Kids World
by Lord Candycane
Summary: No child should have to endure the death of a parent, but what happens when the entire country suffers from it? As Riley finds out, a world without adults can be a very dangerous place to live in. When Riley finds herself being guardian to a little girl, she is forced to become the big sister she never wished to be, and a hero she never thought she could be. Rating may change.
1. Epidemic

_Hello, fanfiction readers! This is my first Inside Out fanfiction. This story is based on a film of the same name, but plays out much differently._

 _To note: the emotions don't (physically) appear in this story. They certainly influence the actions of some characters, which is true for any story, but they're absent as characters for 3 reasons:_

 _1\. It would somewhat clash with the tone of the story._

 _2\. Including them would seem a bit like filler and would be unneeded._

 _3\. Most importantly, I wanted Riley herself to have something of an identity. This story is centered on her as a person, and her emotions are of influence, but Riley is ultimately the focus._

 _With that said, let's move on._

* * *

 **Kids World**

* * *

In the year that Riley had been living in San Francisco, she'd been faced with many hardships; many ups and downs; but throughout it all, she'd always pulled through in the end.

She'd made many friends there, too; there were Harriet and Madison, a pair of girls hardly ever seen without each other. Harriet had blonde hair, like Riley, but it was a much lighter shade. She was a bit shorter than Riley, and thinner. Madison had dark skin and black hair, and she was about an inch taller than Riley was.

There was also Harold. Riley sometimes joked that he could've been her Minnesota friend Meg's fraternal twin. He had fuzzy red hair, freckles, and green glasses. Riley was taller than most of the kids her age, and Harold was no exception. He was actually older than Riley by a month, but many adults would look at the two together and think Riley was older.

In terms of personality, Harold was very cynical and depressing to talk to. However, Riley would always look to him for personal help when her parents weren't available, and usually, he'd willingly help.

However, the classmate that Riley had bonded with the most during her year at San Francisco was Annis. Annis had short auburn hair, which used to be red, and bright eyes. She was about an inch taller then everyone in her class, Riley included. She'd been the first person in the school Riley had befriended, and at times, Riley was reminded a bit of Meg when she was with her.

Then again, there was some times when Annis acted out a bit. Sometimes, she spoke when there was no need to, and she'd butt into things when she was not needed. She'd make an offensive comment occasionally, but she'd always apologize.

In short, things were looking up for Riley at San Francisco. It seemed that she would finally adapt to the city.

But then, everything went to Hell. In a way that nobody quite expected.

* * *

Two months. That was all it took.

Those who lived had a hard time piecing together exactly what happened. Survivors traced the epidemic to a chemical plant studying toxic gas. Somehow, accidentally or not, the gas got released.

The gas spread across the state, then the country, quickly. It stayed in the air for a few hours, then dissipated. It seemed like everything would be back to normal after it disappeared.

Then, adults and teenagers started dying off. Parents, workers, etc. It happened so quickly that nobody even had time to try and create a cure for what had happened.

For two months, the best dying parents could hope for was by trying to prepare their children to go on without them. Some parents even tried to teach their kids to handle 'grown-up' jobs. Other, more unhinged parents, simply took their children with them.

Why did the gas not affect the children? Most adults thought it had something to do with their varying immune systems. If that was the case, it was a bit of dying comfort for the parents, in their final moments, knowing that their children wouldn't be affected.

Then, after two months, it was all over. Throughout the entire country, the only ones who survived were those under the age of thirteen.

* * *

Most kids burnt the corpses throughout the city. Others simply dumped the bodies into the sea.

Riley didn't even consider those. She wanted to dignify the death of her own parents, who had tried to prepare her for a life without them. She took the bodies into the forest, and buried them as best as she could.

It took an hour, but she finally finished. When she was finished, she simply sat down at the tree she buried them at, reminiscing times with her parents she knew she'd never be able to relive. She wondered now, how she could possibly get on without her parents to guide her. It had been hard enough at San Francisco when they were alive, it seemed borderline impossible to move on now. She let a tear slip down her cheek.

When a hand rubbed Riley's shoulder, she barely reacted. Annis sat down next to Riley at the tree.

"Hey," She said quietly. Annis hadn't spoken to Riley for a month, since her own parents had died. Riley silently noted that Annis seemed to be in a better mood now.

"Uh, our friends are moving the kids in your neighborhood to this hotel," Annis explained, staring at the tree. "You'd want to join?"

Riley didn't answer. Secretly, she knew that was the option she'd pick. There was no way she'd stay in her own neighborhood, all alone. She quickly nodded.

"Hey, I know this seems bad, but you'll see, this will be so much fun," Annis unexpectedly said, which shocked Riley. She'd never, ever consider what was happening fun.

"Think about it," Annis said, wrapping her arm around Riley's shoulder. "A world without adults. There was a movie about that, right. It was called... Kid's World. Yeah, that's what this is. A Kid's World."

Riley guessed that Annis was trying to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect. Instead, Riley started crying again.

Annis realized the harmful things she was doing by having said that, and hugged Riley. "Hey, it's okay, Riley," She comforted her. "I'm sad, too. I was just trying to cheer both of us up."

Riley didn't say a word. She only cried into Annis' shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, Riley," Annis whispered as she hugged her. "It's okay. This will all turn out alright." Then, she started to whistle to Riley. It was something she would always do to ease her.

Admittedly, Riley felt better by crying. "Come on, smile for me," Annis said, putting a smile on her own face. Riley, in spite of her mixed feelings, put on a smile to appease Annis. The two girls got up.

"Come on, let's go," Annis said, holding Riley's hand. "You'll love the hotel."

As the two began to leave the forest, Annis began to chat non-stop. "There's a pool, and a hot tub, it'll be so great!" She said cheerfully. "I tell you, Riley, in a few months, you'll forget this ever happened."

Riley briefly turned back to the place where she buried her parents. She didn't want to forget about them. That would be the worse thing ever.

But, she didn't want to disappoint Annis. So, she turned away from the grave, and followed Annis out from the forest.

* * *

 **End of Chapter One  
**

* * *

 _You wouldn't believe how hard it was to write this. If it seems mean-spirited or a bit weird, I promise you, this story will pick up. I simply wanted a way to get the adults out of the situation, to see how the children would handle things.  
_

 _Reviews are appreciated, as are constructive criticisms. No flames, please._


	2. Two Months Later

_Wow, I'll admit, I'm rather surprised at all the reviews this got. I really appreciate it._

 _Grandma Ricky: Thanks, I was hoping the emotions not appearing wouldn't result in a backlash._

 _DnBeanie: Yeah, but there is a legitimate reason for why they're not appearing. As I said before, it's Riley who I wanted to develop as a character. And for the epidemic, there was NO WAY I would be dwelling on it. It was hard enough writing it for one chapter, I just wanted that to be done with so we could move on._

 _I am a burglar: Good luck for you._

 _TheOneAndOnly1993: Yeah, as you'll find out, Annis isn't exactly the most ideal of best friends._

 _The Crossover Guardian: Was it 'The Girl Who Owned A City'? It was really weird, actually; I came up with the idea, and then I learned about the book. It was surprising at how much my story resembled that one._

 _Guest: Riley and Annis' relationship is expanded on, but it isn't the main relationship in the story._

* * *

 ** _Two Months Later_  
**

Riley passed through the streets of San Francisco, heading towards the hotel where she now lived at. During the two months that the adults had all been gone, it had started snowing over the city.

Riley wore her trademark yellow jacket as she slowly walked across the sidewalk. She watched silently as the younger children played in the snow, having a snowball fight at the front of the hotel. For the life of her, Riley didn't know why the younger children seemed so happy, considering their parents were all dead.

The city itself had gone through some changes as well. The vast majority of the factories throughout the city had been shut down shortly before all the adults had died out. The older children had been taught some of the mechanisms to keep the basics of the city to function, including the internet and the phone systems. It hadn't been an easy process, but they had just barely managed.

Since the adults had died off, some of the children moved throughout the city. Homeless children could now move into apartments and other houses and make it their own. Others even moved into such places as stores and restaurants. Some children also took other children in to live with them.

A few unruly children sometimes stole things throughout the city. Riley, however, didn't particularly care. After all, was it really thievery when most of the stuff stolen didn't truly belong to anyone in the first place?

As Riley passed by the children, she recognized a few of them. She saw a four year old girl with bright red hair in pigtails, trying to join the older children in the snowball fight. Riley watched in half-pity when the girl was inevitably knocked over by a snowball to the face.

Riley rolled her eyes. She knew that it was somewhat rude to do so, but she still couldn't fathom how dumb the girl was, getting into a snowball fight where she could easily get hurt. However, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she, herself, was struck in the face by a rather large snowball.

Remember in movies, when someone would be hit by a snowball and it would harmlessly poof against them? In reality, it wasn't like that. The snowball was packed with ice, and Riley was struck so hard she went crashing to the ground.

Before Riley could get up and sock whoever had hit her with the snowball, she heard someone shout, "Hey, watch out!"

Spinning her head around, Riley gasped when she saw a boy, ice-skating towards her. He had a similar freaked-out expression, and he tried to swerve to avoid her, but tripped right over her. The two crashed on top of each other.

Riley groaned and pushed the boy off of her. She instantly recognized him. He was some hyperactive kid who lived in the store close to the hotel. He was a younger boy, about ten years old, with short brown hair and bright green eyes.

"So sorry, ma'am," The boy apologized quickly, ruffling his hair. Riley got to her feet, several inches taller than the boy.

"Uh, thanks, Mr..." Riley never did know his name.

"Jake," The boy introduced. "Your name is Riley Andersen, right?"

Riley raised an eyebrow, somewhat piqued that the boy knew her name, but not the other way around.

"Your that girl who tried to run away from her home a year back, right?" Jake correctly guessed. Riley eyed him and backed away slowly, uncomfortable that the kid knew about that. She'd tried to push that memory into the back of her head ever since she returned home, but it was as if the memory was stuck with her.

"It's not something I like to remember," Riley muttered, then quickly said, "Take off, kid." With that, she bolted towards the door to the hotel, swung it open, and ran inside.

Riley certainly liked being in the hotel more than being outside. The hotel had close to a thousand children living in it, most of whom Riley knew from her neighborhood and school. All of her close friends lived in the hotel.

When she was in the hotel, Riley felt more joyful. Her apathetic, gloomy look was replaced with that of happiness and cheerfulness. She passed by the kids she knew, nodding at them, waving at others, and even occasionally saying, "Hello!" and "How you doing?"

Filled with some new joy, Riley happily walked into the elevator, joined by a few of her former classmates. The elevator brought them up to their hallway, and they walked out.

"You doing that hockey game this afternoon?" Riley asked one girl, who nodded. Riley sometimes played hockey with her friends as a pass time.

Riley skipped into her room. It had been redecorated since she moved in, the walls adorned with furniture and portraits of Riley with her parents. She treasured them, as they were her only remaining memories of her parents.

Riley then sat down on the bed, rubbing the bed covers with her palm. In her room, she felt happier, more content. In her room, she felt truly at peace.

Little did she know, that peace would soon come to an end.

* * *

 _Reviews are appreciated.  
_


	3. The Law-Abiding Citizen

_Guest: If you re-read the synopsis, you'll find out what the main relationship in the story is._

 _BladeRunner43: Maybe there are a few of those people out there. I mean, if someone turned thirteen after the pandemic was over, they'd survive._

 _Boy Jav: Great that you already love this story so early in._

* * *

Riley had been reading her favorite hockey magazine when she heard a knock on the window.

With a sigh, Riley slowly got off the bed and walked over to the window, wondering who had been so desperate as to climb up the hotel just to reach her. She slid the windowsill up, and poked her head out.

"Hi, miss!" A young girl said as she unexpectedly hung upside down from outside the window. How she was keeping from falling off was anyone's guess. Riley was so stunned she stumbled away.

"What are you doing out there, kid?!" She shouted, horrified. She was a little annoyed at being disturbed, but she still didn't want to see the girl fall off.

"Can I come in?" The girl asked. Riley immediately pulled the girl inside and set her down. The girl was much younger than Riley, probably about six years old, and had wavy brown hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a pink jacket and skirt, with black leggings. Her eyes were blue.

"Can I help you?" Riley asked, after an awkward silence.

The girl pulled out a small bag and held it out, as if she were expecting Riley to give her something. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked.

"No," Was Riley's blunt answer.

"No lawns to mow, or weeds to hack, or..."

"No."

"Maybe I could help repaint the walls..."

"No. Why do you need to do any of those things?" Riley asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I need to earn money to buy food for my little brother and me," The girl explained. "This kid with red hair and green glasses directed me to you."

Riley groaned, knowing instantly who she was talking about. "Look, what's your name?" She asked.

"Brooke Henderson," The girl replied.

"Well, Brooke, you don't need to earn any money from anyone," Riley claimed.

"But if I don't earn money, I can't buy food," Brooke retorted, as if it was obvious.

"If you need food, you just take it," Riley pointed out. "This place is full of restaurants."

"But taking things without paying for it is against the law," Brooke pointed out. "You could get arrested for that."

Riley face palmed hard. "Don't you get it, kid?" She said. "The adults are gone. There is no law here. You just take whatever you need."

"But my mommy told me that stealing is bad," Brooke pointed out.

Riley groaned loudly for about ten seconds. Then, she took a hammer, walked over to her piggy bank, and smashed it open, revealing about a hundred pennies. She scooped up about a dozen, and threw it into Brooke's bag.

'There, kid, you happy?" She asked, utterly irritated. "Go buy yourself an apple or something, now. I'm going to bed."

She climbed into her bed, lay down, and shut her eyes. She was about to fall asleep when she heard the sound of something fall into the ground. Springing up, she turned to see Brooke standing over a fallen portrait of Riley and her parents.

"Oops," She mumbled, embarrassed. She picked up the portrait, which now had a crack in it.

"This wasn't important, was it?" She asked as she held the portrait out to Riley, who gasped when she saw the dent.

* * *

"I'll take that as a YES!" Brooke shouted as she was flung out the window, bags and all. Riley shut the windowsill down, pouted, and went back to bed.

Outside the hotel, Harold and a few other boys were in the outside swimming pool, which was weird considering it was winter.

"Dude, those kids are still snowball fighting outside," One boy told Harold as they watched the younger kids play in the snow.

"What is their deal?" Harold asked. However, he was snapped out of her thoughts when Brooke splashed, face-first, into the center of the swimming pool. She splashed up, gasping for air, her face and hair soaked.

She awkwardly stared at the boys in the swimming pool. "Hey, is there anything I can do to earn any money?" She asked after a while.

* * *

 _ **A Few Minutes Before  
**_

Annis had been taking the elevator to Riley's hallway. She lived at the highest spot in the hotel, while Riley lived in the lower sections.

Annis had been having a bad week. The younger kids had been irritating her whenever she walked outside, and she almost felt trapped in the hotel. Whenever she felt like this, she went to see Riley. She'd always managed to cheer her up.

However, when she reached Riley's door, she paused when she heard her talking to someone. She recognized the other girl's voice as Brooke. The kid had asked her for money in the past whenever they crossed paths.

She had listened in on the whole, conversation, but what really caught Annis' interest was when she heard Riley say, "There is no law here."

When Riley said that, Annis backed away in thought. Riley had been right; there was no law in the city. The kids simply did whatever they wanted. It occurred to Annis that if things went on like that, this city would devolve into chaos. At least, she figured that would happen eventually.

Then, Annis got an idea. A bright smile formed on her face, and she began hopping around ecstatically, squealing to herself. She bolted to the next room and swung the door open on a few boys playing a video game.

"Hey, boys!" She shouted. Once the boys saw it was Annis, they switched the game off and turned their attention to her.

"Yes, Annis!" They all said in unison.

"I have a job for you!" She said. "I'm making a stop somewhere, and you're going with me! This is going to change the city!"

The boys were miffed, but they weren't willing to argue with Annis. Cautiously, they followed Annis out the room to see what she had planned.

* * *

 _I noticed the previous chapter didn't get quite as much reviews as the first. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it. Read and review.  
_


	4. Law and Order

_Js: Brooke is aware of the situation she's in, but she's just trying to be a good kid. Riley has been rather emotionally shutdown since all the adults died._

 _Guest: I looked it up. It seems rather interesting._

 _Boy Jav: Well, here's the next chapter._

 _DnBeanie: Well, I'm just glad everything got cleared up, thankfully._

 _Guest 2: The little sister character appeared already (re-read chapter 2) and she becomes more prominent in the next chapter._

 _Guest 3: Here's the next chapter for you._

 _I am a burglar: Then steal the money, since you're a burglar._

 _Also, for the person who suggested me watching the music video, thank you. It was a great time listening to that music._

* * *

An hour later, Riley heard a knock on the door. She recognized it as Annis, who had a specific knocking sound.

"Come in," She said, and the door swung open to reveal Annis, looking much more giddy than usual. She stared at Riley, a big grin on her face, which put Riley on edge a bit. She recognized that grin; it was the grin Annis would make when she had an idea.

After a few moments, Annis opened her mouth and said, "Want to join me in the hot tub?"

Riley was rather miffed, and she guessed that Annis would tell her something important there. Still, she didn't bother arguing.

Before Riley knew it, she was wearing a bathing suit and was sitting next to Annis in the hot tub. Harriet and Madison were with them, on the other side of the tub.

Riley stared at the kids in the pool, an embarrassed look on her face. She watched as her three friends sat idly with her, all of them smiling cheerfully.

After a while, Annis said, "I called the three of you down here for a reason, you know."

"Really now," Harriet asked, staring at Annis, suspicious. Madison nodded, half-paying attention, and her head was turned to stare at the kids in the pool next to them.

"I'm sure you all know about those kids outside, with their immature antics," Annis pointed out. Riley groaned. This was what Annis wanted to talk about?

Quickly losing interest, Riley sunk under the hot tub to see how long she could hold her breath. As she did, however, she listened in on the conversation.

Annis swam closer to Harriet and Madison. "A couple of boys and I went through all the arsenals and police stations around the city," Annis revealed. "We took the guns."

There was a tense silence, marred by the slow sound of Riley rising up from the water, a look of utter disbelief and shock on her face.

"You, what?" Riley asked, wondering if she'd heard correctly. By now, the other kids in the pool were staring at Annis, too.

Annis nodded, grinning. "We took the guns," She said, giggling. "More for every kid in this hotel."

Riley's eyes widened as realization settled in. No, Annis couldn't possibly had done that. She must be playing a trick on them all.

Annis rubbed her hands together, her grin growing wider. "The guns are in my room and the boys'," She revealed. Harriet and Madison, who looked just as shocked as Riley, inched away from Annis slowly.

"W-What?" Madison asked, not quite grasping what was being told to her.

"We're going to change this city," Annis proclaimed, louder so everyone could hear.

Riley, herself, was having enough of this conversation. Excusing herself, she got out of the pool, wrapped a towel around her body, and walked off to return to her room. As she did so, sweat poured down her forehead, though most kids just thought it was water from the tub.

As she left, she could faintly hear Annis whispering her plan to the other kids.

* * *

Riley spent almost a half-hour showering, trying to wash away her feelings of discomfort. As she showered, she thought about Annis, and what she'd told her friends.

Even as she got out of the shower, she tried to reassure herself that Annis was only joking. Surely that was the case. Annis was known for joking.

She washed her face in the sink, and then said to herself, "That's better, Riley. You should know that Annis was just kidding. No way was she-"

The door creaked open, and Riley flung a towel onto herself. When the door opened, she saw Madison at the door.

"Get your clothes on," She said, looking dead-serious. "Annis called everyone to meet her, including you. It's about the _guns_."

Riley's blood went cold. Her heart stopped. So Annis hadn't been joking. A feeling of utter fear filled Riley as Madison watched her slowly put her clothes on. She finished zipping up her yellow sweater, and then she followed Madison to the elevator.

A bunch of other kids were crowding through the hallways, all of them going to meet Annis downstairs. It shocked Riley, as she saw just how many kids lived in the hotel. Most of them couldn't fit in the elevator, so they settled with taking the stairs.

Riley and Madison took the elevator, along with a few other of Riley's former classmates. Throughout it all, Riley wondered just what Annis planned to do. Surely she didn't intend to actually _kill_ anyone, right?

When they reached downstairs, they saw Annis, standing near the exit of the hotel. Riley looked around, and saw multiple boys with guns. In another hallway, there were hundreds more guns, piled on top of each other.

Annis was swinging a machine gun in her hands casually as she awaited everyone to arrive. She had a smile on her face when she saw Riley at the front of the other kids.

More kids arrived, and soon, the place was filled with nearly a hundred kids. Of course, not everyone could fit in the area, and most of them were crowded in the stairways, struggling to get close enough to listen to Annis.

Riley huddled next to Harriet and Madison, feeling truly insignificant as she watched Annis stare at her specifically. The other kids were mixtures of fear, suspicion, and interest.

Annis watched all of the kids near her, making sure all eyes were on her. Then, she slowly walked towards Riley, who sunk back in intimidation. Slowly, Annis gently rested her hand on Riley's shoulder, and dragged her to the exit.

Annis turned Riley so she was facing everyone near her. Then, she raised Riley's hand in the air. Finally, she spoke, in a voice filled with determination and confidence.

'I want all of you to recognize this girl," Annis proclaimed, pointing her gun at Riley. "Her name is Riley Anderson. She is twelve years old, and she is from Minnesota. I want all of you to recognize her, because she is an important part of what we're about to do."

Riley gulped. She didn't want to have any part in what Annis planned to do, let alone be a major part in it.

"This girl gave me the idea to restore order to this adult-free city," Annis said, and all the kids stared at Riley. Riley shrunk down a bit in fear.

"I heard Riley, talking to a girl, over an hour ago," Annis continued. 'She mentioned things such as how there was no law."

Riley immediately remembered when she had been talking to Brooke. So Annis had overheard that?

"It made me realize just how close this city was to devolving into chaos," Annis continued. "No law, no order. Everyone free to do as they pleased. The kids out there, doing what they want outside."

"They're just playing..." A voice in the crowd pointed out.

"Yeah, but what about the rest of this city?" Annis asked. 'What about all the chaos that's happening. With no law or order, some kids are going to think they can do whatever they want. This city could devolve into a Hellhole of utter anarchy!"

Everyone went silent at that, allowing Annis to continue.

"So, I came to a conclusion," Annis said, more quietly. "What if we were the law. What if we created order! It's been two months since the adults left, it's about time someone stepped up to establish order. We are going to be those people!"

At this point, Riley spoke, softly, 'Why do we need guns?"

"We need something to keep the other kids in order," Annis replied calmly. "Something to keep the populace in check. Like the government."

Annis finally let go of Riley, and moved towards a random section of the crowd. Taking a boy by the shoulders, she said, "We're going to create a law and I'm going to govern this city."

Letting go of the boy, she shouted, "Who's with me. Who wants to be part of this new hierarchy?!"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, one girl whispered, "Me?"

"Me," A boy said, with a little more confidence. Riley watched as the other kids raised their hands to signal that they would join Annis. Riley had heard about Mob mentality, but it was now that she finally saw it in person.

"Me! Me! Me!"

Soon, everyone was shouting out in agreement. Annis grinned, and she turned to Riley. It occurred to Riley that she was the only one who hadn't agreed yet.

"Come here, Riley," Annis said, and took her to a section of the hotel that was empty. She sat Riley down on the floor, and sat down next to her.

"I know this is hard," Annis said soothingly, rubbing Riley's back. "But, you have to understand, I'm just doing this for you. For the good of this city. You know all I want is you safe."

Riley slowly nodded. She felt Annis place the gun in Riley's arms.

"I want you to take this," Annis said, before getting to her feet. Then, she continued, "Remember your parents. Don't they want their little girl to be strong in times like these?"

Riley slowly let a tear stream down her eyes when Annis mentioned her parents. She wanted her parents to be proud. She wanted Annis to be proud.

"Are you with me?" Annis asked, stroking Riley's hair.

After some hesitation, Riley whispered, "Yes."

Immediately, Annis grabbed Riley and hugged her, holding her off the ground. "Oh, Riley, my Riley, I knew I could count on you!" She shouted, setting Riley down. Then, she said, "Let me see the smile."

Riley smiled, for Annis' sake. Annis took her hand and dragged her off with the other kids. "Just you wait, Riley!" Annis told her. 'We're going to change this city!"

* * *

 _What did you think Annis' plan was? Anyways, read and review, as always.  
_


	5. The Ambush

_Okay, before anyone mentions it, yes, I changed "state" to "country", to wrap up a few potential plot-holes. It also makes things bigger and *spoilers*, gives our main characters something more to fight for later. Now, onto the replies:  
_

 _Behemoth of Death: Yeah, I have yet to get around to seeing that music. I will eventually, though._

 _The 379th Hero: Well, I changed it to country, now, but I'm not sure if that totally fixes the plot-hole._

 _RussianMochi: I really feel like Sadness is the one in charge at this point. As for the ending, I'm thinking about it._

 _Boy Jav: Thanks, again. Maybe you could go into more detail next time._

 _I am a burglar: Let's face it, I doubt Riley wants that attention. Just try and steal guns from a thousand kids and NOT get caught._

 _Js: There are two sides in this story: the "law enforcement", and the rest of the city._

* * *

Brooke was stumbling around aimlessly in front of the hotel, her bag out in front of her.

"Money, anyone got money?" She asked random kids that passed her by. Alas, she received no answer. Eventually, she looked up to Jake, who was on a ladder, trying to receive his football from the top of the roof.

"Jake, get down from there," Brooke demanded from the bottom of the latter. "You could fall and bust your face."

"No, I won't," Jake reassured, even as the ladder wobbled from his weight.

Suddenly, the doors of the hotel were swung open, startling a few bystanders. However, their surprise was mitigated by utter alarm when suddenly, hundreds of screaming and shouting preteens swarmed out of the door like a colony of army ants.

The gun-wielding kids poured out of the hotel and flooded the sidewalks and streets. Once all of them were outside, one kid calmly closed the hotel door. The hotel children stared at the befuddled younger kids on the streets, silent. Nobody was quite sure how to respond.

A high-pitched scream filled the air, and everyone looked up to see Jake plummet unceremoniously off the ladder and into a pile of snow.

"Everyone, on your knees, right now!" Annis demanded, waving her gun in the air. Instantly, the hotel kids ran around, forcing the other children onto the ground and pinning them. Those that attempted to flee were apprehended immediately.

Jake emerged from the snow, at a loss for words. He reached out randomly and took Brooke's arm. Then, the two took off down the streets and ran into a building next to the hotel.

In the midst of the crowd of over a thousand children, Riley awkwardly moved through them, looking confused. Everything was happening at such a fast pace that she didn't know what to do.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Riley saw a familiar face. Hiding in an alleyway, was that same four year old girl with red hair. She clutched a rag doll that resembled herself, and she had a look of utter terror and innocence in her big eyes.

Slowly, Riley inched towards the girl, and extended a hand. The girl gasped and ran off into the alley. Riley groaned, as she now had to do things the hard way. Quickly, she followed the girl.

* * *

Harriet and Madison entered the building that Jake and Brooke had vanished into. "Is this where you saw them go?" Madison asked.

Harriet nodded. "I think they ran up those stairs," She said, pointing at the footprints leading up the airs. Following the snow prints left by the two younger kids, Harriet and Madison ran up the stairs.

Harriet squinted in the darkness. "Could you turn on the lights?" She asked, mainly referring to Madison.

"Oh, sure," A voice said in the darkness, followed by the lights getting switched on to reveal Jake and Brooke. Once Jake realized his mistake, he muttered out, "Oops."

The two kids took off down the hallway. "Hey, come back here!" Madison shouted, and she and Harriet followed the two. However, when they reached the end of the hallways, they found several doors leading to different rooms.

"Which one do we look in?" Harriet asked, staring at the different rooms. She soon found her answer, when the two heard Jake sneeze in the room leading to the end of the hallway.

"Gesundheit," Brooke replied from the same room. Harriet shook her head, astonished at how the two had given away their hiding spots so easily.

"Come on," She said, ushering Madison to follow her. However, Madison paused.

"Hey, I have an idea," She suggested. "Get on my back."

Harriet stared at her, miffed. "What?" She asked.

"Just do it," Madison whispered. Cautiously, Harriet climbed on her back and Madison gave her a piggy-back ride into the room. When they entered, the room seemed empty.

Madison walked to a dresser and turned around. Harriet stepped up onto the dresser. Madison then left the room.

Followed by the closing of the door, Jake exited from the closet and Brooke climbed out from under the bed. Neither of them saw Harriet on the dresser. It was only then that Harriet realized what Madison's plan was; she had tricked the two into leaving their hiding spots by convincing them she had left the room.

Immediately, Harriet tackled Jake to the ground. Madison burst through the door and grabbed Brooke, hoisting her into the air.

"Gotcha!" She shouted, holding onto Brooke. "Annis will be so proud."

"Who do you work for?" Jake asked, glaring at Madison defiantly as Harriet held onto him.

Harriet blinked. "She... kind of just told you," She pointed out as the two escorted the younger kids out of the room.

* * *

Riley had pursued the little girl all the way into the woods. Occasionally, she called out to the girl to stop, but the girl continued running.

Eventually, the girl tripped and fell. She immediately got up, but then saw that she had dropped her doll. She reached over to pick it up, and then saw that Riley was right in front of her.

Riley bent over, trying to extend a hand to the girl, who recoiled.

"Hey, it's okay," Riley said, trying to calm the girl. However, the girl saw the gun in Riley's hand, and gasped.

Riley instinctively hid the gun behind her back. 'Everything's alright, little girl," She said. She picked up the doll.

"You want the dolly?" She asked. In an attempt to win the girl's trust, she handed the doll to her. "Here you go," She said.

The moment the girl had the doll, she hugged it. She looked at Riley, and for a fleeting moment, it seemed like she would go with her. However, she then took off down the passageway again.

"Oh, for the love of..." Riley said, exasperated, and resumed her chase. She was bigger than the girl, and faster, and she knew she could catch up to her easily.

When Riley was nearing the girl, she unexpectedly dove to the side, causing Riley to trip and fall. For a few moments, an irritated Riley began to growl in frustration, beating on the ground with her fists.

She looked in the direction the girl had vanished to, and faintly saw her red hair sticking out from behind a green bush. An idea popped into Riley's mind.

Riley approached a nearby tree and climbed up to the top of it. When she was on a tree branch, she scouted in the opposite direction the girl was. Behind her, the girl, thinking Riley didn't know where she was, got up and started to try to sneak off.

Unexpectedly, Riley tore off from the tree branch and dove down towards the girl, who screamed out in horror. Before she could run, Riley grabbed her, tackling her to the ground. The doll dropped from her hands.

"I got you!" Riley said, picking the girl up and locking her in Riley's embrace. She stared at the doll, on the dirty ground, and then picked it up as well.

Now that she had the girl, Riley made her way back to reunite with Annis and the others.

* * *

 _As always, read and review._


	6. Caroline

_The Ever-Evolving Behemoth: I can't wait to post either._

 _Boy Jav: It's alright._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora:... To reunite with Annis and the others._

 _The 379th Hero: A bigger plot-hole would be why would I get rid of all the adults in the setting just to introduce adults into the story. Also, if you apply logic like this, a story falls apart. After all, how come our emotions are literal physical beings? It's a story, that's why._

 _I am a burglar: Eh, she's not arresting you. She's just taking you hostage._

 _Geraldine: Considering this was built up for two chapters, I don't think so._

 _The Batista: Which kids are in trouble, exactly? The law enforcement kids, or the rest of the city._

 _Js: Riley may have been wary of Annis' intentions, but she had to follow her regardless._

* * *

As Riley found out, the trek back to the hotel was extremely aggravating. The little girl kept screaming and hounding her, beating on her arms and face to get away. It was taking all of Riley's will to keep from smacking the girl in the face to quiet her.

"Come on now, kid, this is for your own good," She told her as the girl tried to wiggle free. She kept the girl trapped in her arms, though. Finally, the two reached the hotel. By now, the hotel children had the other kids in the area all rounded up.

"Look, we're here," Riley said, exasperated as she held onto the girl. Her air was tangled and her face was dirty, but the girl in her arms looked no worse for wear.

Riley saw Annis organizing the order of the kids around her, and she turned to face her.

"Riley, where were you?" She asked, wiping sweat from her forehead. "The other kids were beginning to get worried."

"Sorry, I was busy catching this kid," Riley said, holding the girl out to Annis. The little girl stared up at Annis, somewhat intimidated by her. Annis grinned, and signaled for the nearest hotel children to come to her.

"Set her down," Annis ordered, Riley, who obeyed. The girl, now that Riley wasn't holding her anymore, looked around to see if there was a way to escape, but a group of hotel children gathered around her, blocking all of her potential exits. Realizing that escape was hopeless, the girl simply turned to stare at Annis, hugging her doll.

Annis knelt down towards the girl, and gave a reassuring smile. "What's your name, child?" She asked.

After a moments hesitation, the girl responded with, "Caroline Olivero."

"Isn't that a fancy name," Annis said. Caroline gave a suspicious glance at her.

"Now, you may be worried, but I'll reassure you, this is for your own good," Annis claimed, reaching over to hold Caroline's shoulder. However, Caroline brushed her hand away.

"Come on, we just want to protect you," Annis claimed. "We're establishing a law and order in this city. Isn't that... good?"

Caroline took a step away. "I don't like this," She said.

"Oh, hush, you'll learn to like it eventually," Annis said, stroking Caroline's hair.

"Your a jerk," Caroline blurted out suddenly.

A gasp arose amongst the nearest kids. Riley's eyes widened at the girl's retort. She stared at Annis, and saw the slightest change in her expression. She was still smiling, in spite of the insult, but Riley saw the way Annis' eyes darkened. Her smile, too, seemed to be a facade to hide anger.

Annis got up, dwarfing the much younger Caroline. "Well, you sure are a feisty one," She said in a saccharine tone. She grabbed Caroline by the arm and tossed her at Riley.

Annis turned away from Caroline, and stared at all the kids in the area.

"Everyone, for time being, each of you will be assigned to one of my enforcement children," She shouted out. "They will be your sibling. I will assign you to your sibling."

An audible groan arose from the crowd. Annis turned to stare at Riley.

"Riley, you look after Caroline," She said. Riley felt like she'd just been punched in the face.

"What?" She asked, dumbstruck. "But, I don't know how to look after a little kid."

"Oh, it's easy, you'll see," Annis claimed, shoving Caroline closer to Riley. With that, she skipped off to continue assigning other kids to their "siblings".

Caroline looked up at Riley, and glared at her. Riley groaned.

* * *

Minutes later, Riley was walking towards her room, holding hands with Caroline. Madison was with them.

"Come on, siblings can be so much fun," She said, in an attempt to cheer Riley up. "You can play together, and talk to each other, and share secrets with each other. I mean, I never had a sister, and neither did you, but I'm sure it's a lot of fun!"

Riley didn't respond. She and Caroline hadn't spoken a word since Annis had assigned them together. Riley instead had a stone-cold glare on her face, along with Caroline, as they reached their room.

Madison hurried to her room as Riley opened to door to her room. She ushered Caroline in, then walked in herself. Closing the door behind her, she stared down at Caroline.

The two glared at each other silently. After a while, Caroline said, "I don't like Annis."

Riley sighed, not appreciating her best friend being insulted. "Look, Caroline, since you're living with me now, there's a few rules around here that need to be followed," She said sternly. "First, and most importantly, Annis. Never, _ever_ , smart-mouth her, whether your in my presence or not. Whether you like it or not, she's the boss around her, and I'm not tolerating her being mocked by you, or anyone."

Caroline blew a raspberry at Riley, who narrowed her eyes.

"And second of all, don't disrespect me, either," She pointed out. "As of now, I'm your big sister, and-"

"Your not my sister," Caroline retorted. "Shew is."

Riley blinked. "Who's Shew?" She asked, staring at her, confused. It took Riley a moment to realize that Annis was referring to the doll.

Riley face-palmed. "Look, Caroline, that doll is not your sister," Riley pointed out.

Caroline looked offended. "Yes she is," She said, hugging it tightly. "I love her."

Riley's face darkened. Walking towards Caroline, she took the doll from her hands. "This is a doll," She said, dangling it in the air. "It's made of straw."

"Hey, give her back!" Caroline shouted, and kicked Riley in the shin. Riley screamed and dropped the doll, allowing Caroline to retrieve it. For a few moments, Riley sat on the floor, holding onto her shin. Then, she glared at Caroline, and remembered what her father did when he 'put the foot down.'

"That's it! Go to your room!" She commanded, trying to mimic her father's stern tone.

Caroline stared at Riley blankly. "...I am in my room!" She retorted, gesturing to the room they were in.

Riley wasn't particularly fond of using violence, but at that point, she lost all patience. Her hand shot out and connected with Caroline's cheek like a rubber band. Caroline's face shot to the side in response, and she held onto her burning cheek.

She turned back to stare at Riley, her eyes widened in shock. Riley glared at Caroline in response.

"Go to bed!" She shouted. "It's getting dark anyways!"

Caroline glared at Riley, but she nevertheless climbed into bed. She tucked herself in, still hugging the doll. A tear streamed down her face.

Riley stared at Caroline, and her angry face was replaced with that of self-deprecation. She flicked off the lights and slowly climbed into bed with Caroline, careful to stay as far away from her as possible. She faced in the opposite direction, utterly worn out.

Riley closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Miss, kidnapping is against the law," Brooke pointed out to Madison as she took her to her room. Jake watched the two, uncomfortable, as he stood in the hallways.

Annis had assigned him to room 666. He didn't know who's room that was, but judging from the number, it couldn't be good.

Before Jake could open the door, it creaked open by itself. Jake gulped, and slowly walked inside. The room was pitch black.

"Um, hello?" He asked, staring around in the darkness. "Is anyone here?"

After about a minute of silence, a dark figure appeared in the room.

"Let's get something straight here, punk," The figure said in a commanding tone. "This is my room, and that's my door. This bed you see, it's mine. You're in my room, and your mine now."

Jake didn't like the way that was worded. "Uh, who are you?" He asked.

The figure stepped out of the darkness to reveal a boy with fuzzy red hair, freckles, and green glasses.

"My name is Harold, and I know your name already," He said. "It's my pet."

Jake took one look at him, and gulped.

* * *

 _Read and review, as always.  
_


	7. The Botched Escape

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Annis (not Annie) is nothing like either of those two._

 _General Raam from GOW: Well, here's the next chapter._

 _The 379th Hero: I probably would've made it a worldwide catastrophe, but it was hard enough coming up with a way to get rid of the adults in the country period, let alone the world. But, who knows, maybe it did affect the world._

 _The Batista: Okay then._

 _I am a burglar: They will find you eventually._

 _Patrick Star Squidward Tentacles: Oh, there will be sadness in this story._

 _Rufflessss: Who says Annis was right in her method._

* * *

The next morning, Riley awoke from her sleep. She got out of bed, feeling woozy, and then remembered Caroline. However, when she turned to stir her from her sleep, she was surprised to find the bed empty.

Caroline was gone. Riley looked to the side, and saw that the door was wide open.

"Oh, that little brat!" Riley shouted, frustrated, and quickly put on her yellow sweater and her sneakers before rushing out to find the young girl.

As it turned out, Caroline wasn't that far away. She was pressing buttons to open the elevator to escape. She looked jittery and nervous.

"Caroline!" Riley shouted, causing her to jump. She turned to face Riley, the doll hugged in her arms. As Riley approached, looking as mad as ever, the elevator door opened. Without a second thought, Caroline dove inside.

"Caroline, get back here!" Riley shouted, racing off towards the elevator. However, the elevator door shut just as Riley reached it. Riley then heard the sound of the elevator going down.

Riley growled in frustration. Then, she started stomping around, punching the wall repeatedly, utterly absorbed in anger. Her tantrum caused the other children to leave their rooms to see what was happening.

Riley eventually stopped in the middle of her anger-induced frenzy, and raced off towards the stairway. If she ran fast enough, she could get to Caroline before she escaped the hotel.

Riley practically skipped off several steps of the stairway, and when she was half-way down, she slid down the railing, despite the potential danger.

Riley finally slid down onto the bottom floor, swung the door open, and raced off to meet Caroline before she reached the exit of the hotel.

Riley heard a scream that she recognized as Caroline's. Spinning around to the source of the scream, she saw Caroline, trapped in the arms of Harriet, with Madison next to her. It seemed that the moment Caroline ran out the elevator, she'd been caught by the two girls.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief, and wearily approached the three.

"Does this belong to you?" Harriet asked sarcastically, holding out the struggling Caroline. Riley glared at the younger girl, causing her to shrink down in fear, the doll dangling from her tiny hands.

"Uh, thanks for catching her," Riley said to Harriet and Madison. "Who knows what Annis would've done if she'd found out I'd lost her."

Before either girl could respond, Annis herself appeared from the elevator, a gun in her hand. She strode out casually, facing Riley and ignoring the other three girls.

"We're going out to establish law and order, Riley," Annis explained. "I want you with me." With that, she left to call for the other children.

Riley nodded, but then stared at Caroline. She didn't want to run the risk of Caroline fleeing again while she was out with the others.

"Harriet, Madison, can you look after Caroline while I'm gone?" Riley asked the two.

"What?" Harriet asked. "But, the law and order thing."

"It's just for one day," Riley pointed out. "Surely you can spare that."

Harriet looked at Caroline, then at Riley.

"Look, Riley, we may be friends," Harriet told her. "But we're not looking after your brat, and you can't make us!"

* * *

"I can't believe she made us," Madison said to Harriet as she tried to feed Caroline a broccoli at the breakfast area of the hotel. Brooke was with them.

"Come on, eat the broccoli," Harriet said, practically shoving the broccoli in Caroline's face. This only made her cringe and try to dodge it.

Madison took the fork and said, "Hey, here's an airplane," She said, doing the airplane trick on her. Caroline briefly turned to Brooke, who just shrugged. Caroline sighed.

* * *

The hotel children rode on bicycles that they'd shamelessly stolen, riding across the streets like an army. About a thousand preteens, charging across the street in the same manner as a battalion.

Annis was at the head, with Riley at her side. Annis briefly made eye contact with Riley and nodded to her. Riley nodded back, though a little warily.

The hotel children were targeting the city square. That was where many of the children often went to play. Surely enough, when they arrived, the city square was flooded with a crowd of children.

Immediately, the hotel kids spread out throughout the square, surrounding the startled children who were too shocked to react. This made them easy targets, for this allowed the hotel kids to overtake them. They clubbed the startled children with their guns, knocked them over, and pinned them down. Few bullets were fired, except to startle the children into giving up.

Riley didn't partake in any of it. Instead, she went off to find Harold. She found him putting a kid in a choke hold until he passed out, allowing the other hotel kids to take him away.

"Harold?" She asked. Harold stretched, then turned to her.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I need to ask you something?" She confessed, sitting on the sidewalk curb.

"This is a pretty weird time to be asking for something," Harold pointed out, sitting down on the curb next to her.

Riley looked at her gun. "Well, how do you look after a sibling?" She asked, turning to look at him.

Harold looked deep in thought. "...I don't know, because I don't have a sibling," He said, and stood up to leave.

"Wait!" Riley shouted. "Maybe you could take Caroline in to look after her, and I could-"

"No," Harold said bluntly, raising his hand to silence her. "It'll be easier to be "siblings" to someone of the same gender as us." With that, he left to capture a runaway kid.

Riley sighed. "I guess I have no choice," She said. "I have to get through to Caroline on my own."

* * *

An hour later, the kids returned to the hotel, their captives with them.

"Now, for the time being, you kids will be living in these buildings around us," Annis explained to her captives. "Any of you try to escape, we won't hesitate to shoot you. Isn't that right, my enforcers?"

The hotel kids stared at Annis, a little conflicted. She shot a glare at them all, and they all started to nod, eliciting a smile from her.

Riley and Harold didn't stay to hear Annis. Instead, they headed off to meet with their assigned siblings.

Harold took the stairs up to his room, near the top of the hotel. He whistled to himself as he opened the door to his room, only to jump in shock and disbelief.

In the middle of the room stood Jake, a paint brush and can in his hands. The walls had all been painted blue. All the furniture and even the bed had been rearranged.

"I thought I'd do some room-work around here to make things more comfortable for us," Jake said innocently. "Isn't that great?"

Harold stared at the room, his face blank.

"Good Lord, I gave up Caroline for this," He whispered, dumbstruck.

* * *

 _Read and review, as always._


	8. Routine

_Boy Jav: Thanks._

 _Guest: That would probably happen in a post-apocalyptic film. Well, a more adult one, anyways._

 _Js: Yeah, you'll find out the type of person Annis is soon enough._

 _BladeRunner43: It would be a good time, but the question is, will someone have the courage to do it? You'd be surprised how few people would actually try to rebel._

 _Rufflessss: Try chilling when you're juggling being a law enforcer and an older sibling. And you're only twelve at the time._

 _The 379th Hero: Few people in real life have actually realized and exploited their numerical advantages. Many problems would be solved if they did._

 _General Raam from GOW: I trust you would. Wonder how it would go, though._

* * *

When Riley returned to her room, she found Caroline, pouting on the bed, the doll hugged in her chest.

Riley sighed, and walked over and sat down next to her. The two didn't say a word for a few minutes, simply staring at the wall silently, letting the tension between them fizzle.

"So, what happened while I was gone?" Riley asked after a moment, to try and stir up a conversation with the young girl.

"Your friends left me here alone about a half hour after you left," Caroline explained, sighing. "It got pretty boring."

Riley nodded. "Me and Annis got some more kids," She said. "Annis told me we're going to continue doing that everyday. So, you're going to be alone for some time everyday."

"I figured," Caroline said, sighing louder this time. Another silence ensued, which was broken when Caroline unexpectedly muttered, "I wonder when my parents will come back."

Riley's eyes widened by an inch. After a few seconds, she said, "What was that?'

"I wonder when my parents will come back," Caroline repeated. "They've been gone for a very long time. They told me that they were going somewhere, and then they left. They haven't been back since."

Riley's eyes widened more as realization sunk in. "Y-You don't know?" She said.

"Don't know what?" Caroline asked, agitated.

"...Nothing," Riley said. She didn't quite want to break the news to Caroline of what had really happened. As a way of comfort, she slid her arm over Caroline's shoulder to console her.

Oddly enough, Caroline accepted it.

* * *

Riley's life took on a rather simple routine for the next few days. In the morning, she would set out with the other "law enforcers" as Annis called them, and root out other kids in specific spots of the city. Annis had a specific pattern, as well; one day, only about a dozen enforcers would go out to capture a few kids. The next day, a larger force of nearly a thousand would set out to gather much more kids around the city.

Annis would place the older children in the buildings near the hotel. The younger children, Caroline's age or younger, were taken away and hidden in areas that only Annis' most trusted friends knew about. Riley was among them.

After this, Riley would return to be with Caroline. In spite of their "bonding" previously, Caroline still proved to be a bit of a pest. She never acknowledged Riley as her sister, still referring to her doll Shew as her sister. She would still snark at Riley, or disrespect her in some other way.

Usually, in the late afternoon, Riley would go out with her friends to hang out, like old times. However, throughout it all, it seemed none of her friends could talk about anything other than their current situations. Annis would talk about their next planned missions; Madison would speak about how much she was getting along with Brooke; Harriet mostly remained quiet.

A few other kids would sometimes ask Riley questions. Most of them regarding where the younger kids were being placed, as she was one of the few people who knew. Riley wouldn't answer, mainly for fear of Annis.

Riley felt that so much was happening in only a few days. It had been less than a week of their missions, and already Riley was wondering when it would all end.

* * *

At the end of their sixth day of the week, Riley, Annis, Harriet and Madison were seated at the table of a diner near the hotel.

"Hey, Annis, I noticed you don't have an assigned sibling," Madison pointed out.

"Hey, I have to look out for everyone in this city, isn't that enough?" Annis excused.

Riley ignored the conversation. Instead, she stared at the other kids at the diner in pity. Annis would not have any of the captured children eat anything until they pledged themselves to depend on her. They were clearly starving.

Riley realized that she had broccoli on her plate. She'd forgotten why she'd even gotten that. She looked up to Annis to make sure she wasn't looking, then she ushered for a nearby kid to come closer to her.

When he was close enough, Riley took the broccoli and gave it to him.

"Hey!" Annis suddenly shouted, causing Riley to snap her attention to her. Annis was staring at her accusingly, a fork pointed in her direction. Riley had been caught red - or in this case, green - handed.

"Did I give you permission to feed them?" Annis asked, glaring at Riley. Riley slowly shook her head, and reluctantly placed the broccoli back on her plate.

Riley hoped Annis would forget and resume talking to Madison, and felt uncomfortable when she realized that Annis was still staring at her. Annis' glare was giving her goosebumps, as was the uncomfortable silence. All eyes were either on Riley, or Annis.

After a while, Annis smiled and said, "Riley, I think you should leave," She said. "Spend some time with your little doll."

She was, of course, referring to Caroline. Riley slowly nodded in respect, got out of the chair, and slowly left the diner. As she did, she still felt an itching in the back of her spine as she remembered the way Annis had glared at her.

Riley had seen something in Annis' eyes in that diner, something she didn't recognize in her best friend. But she had yet to figure out what it was.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	9. Estrange and Reconcile

_General Raam from GOW: You'd probably get gunned down by her law enforcers the moment you put your arm over her neck. You'd have died with honor though, my friend._

 _BladeRunner43: Well, they didn't get ALL of the guns, only about a thousand. And it did take an hour to do so._

 _Rufflessss: That's an understatement._

 _The 379th Hero: Thank you, Captain Obvious._

 _I am a burglar: I'd like to see you try and escape._

 _Li'l bobby: That's the point. Annis wants everyone to depend solely on her._

 _Old man killjoy: Well, Riley's taking care of her now._

 _Rsbaird: Good guess._

 _Love joy: You got the right idea._

 _Run with me: Probably, but the question is where to?_

* * *

When Riley returned to her room, she saw Caroline with Brooke on the bed. She was showing the slightly older girl her doll.

"Her name is Shew," She was telling Brooke. "She's my big sister. I love her really much."

Riley's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe she was referring to the doll as her sister to another kid. She didn't want anyone to think that Caroline was weird for acting like the doll was her sister.

Riley realized that neither of them had noticed her enter, so she walked up to them. She lightly took Brooke off the bed, saying, "Why don't you run off to Madison. I'll talk with Caroline."

Brooke nodded and skipped out of the room. Riley then sat down next to Caroline.

"Look, Caroline, I know you like this doll-" Riley started.

"I love her," Caroline interrupted, holding the doll in front of Riley's face.

Riley nodded. "Well, there's some things you need to stop doing," She said, and Caroline's face contorted into confusion. She lowered the doll.

"Look, this doll is not your sister," Riley said. "It's a doll."

Caroline looked offended. "It is my sister," She defended, ruffling its hair. "I love her."

Riley was quickly beginning to lose patience. She suddenly snatched the doll out of Caroline's hand and got out of the bed.

"Look at it, it's made of straw," She pointed out, dangling the doll in front of Caroline. "It's not real. I'm real."

"She is real!" Caroline argued.

"Look, I'm doing this for your own good!" Riley snapped at her. "The other kids will think your weird for calling this doll your sister!"

"I don't care what they think!" Caroline shouted.

"Well I do!" Riley shouted, louder this time. Dangling the doll in front of Caroline's face, she said, "Does this look like a real, living person! Does it! Does this look like your sister! It's not your sister, I am!"

"Shew is more of a sister than you!" Caroline screamed.

At that point, something snapped in Riley's head. She felt like a flame had went off in her mind, and all she could see was red. If Caroline wouldn't listen to reason, if she couldn't accept that the doll wasn't her sister, then there was only one thing she could do. She knew it would hurt Caroline, but it was for her own good.

Riley grabbed the arm of the doll, and ripped it out of its socket.

Caroline gasped, and her face contorted into a look of utter horror. "No!" She shouted.

Riley wasn't finished, however. She grabbed the doll's leg and ripped it off as well. She growled in anger amidst the sound of the doll being torn apart.

"No!" Caroline screamed in horror. "Riley, stop! STOP!"

Riley didn't hear her. She was so consumed in anger that she couldn't stop. Instead, she continued to rip into the doll, tearing it limb from limb. When all the limbs had been torn off, she started ripping it in half from the waist, stripping off its clothing. Stuffing poured out from the tears in the doll.

Caroline sat on the bed, watching in utter distress as the doll was ripped apart by Riley. She wanted to leap off the bed and save the doll, but she realized how hopeless it was. She just sat on the bed, screaming out hoarsely for Riley to stop.

"Please don't! Stop it! Riley, please STOP!"

For one second, Riley appeared to relent. But then, she grabbed the doll by the head, and ripped it from its body. Then, she dropped the remains of the doll on the floor. The floor was littered with stuffings, and pieces of the now destroyed doll.

Riley began breathing heavily, worn out. She stared down at the remains of the doll, sweat pouring from her forehead. Then, she looked up at Caroline.

The four year old had the most depressed look on her face that Riley could imagine. Slowly, she got off the bed and crouched down over the doll.

"S-Shew?" She choked out, tears brimming in her eyes. She began collecting the pieces of the doll, whispering, "No, Shew."

She looked up at Riley, tears now streaming from her face. She looked like she was trying to find something to say, but ultimately, she just tore out of the room, sobbing. She ran out the door and vanished down the hallway. Riley could hear her sobbing as the young girl ran down the hallway.

For a few minutes, Riley didn't move. She just stood there, trying to process what she'd done. Her anger eventually subsided, ad she felt a nagging guilt, feeling as if she'd done something wrong.

Riley stared down at the wrecked doll, and sat down on the bed. She simply waited for when Caroline would come back. She expected that the girl would eventually return in a few minutes time.

* * *

The minutes rolled by. Then, hours. No sign of Caroline returning.

Riley eventually got up from the bed and stared at the open door. Slowly, she left the room and looked down the hallway where Caroline had ran. She looked at the floor, and saw teardrops on the ground.

Riley began following the teardrops slowly. When the teardrops ended, she asked the other kids where they'd seen Caroline go. Following their directions, she soon found herself at the janitor's closet.

Riley stared at the front of the closet, and pressed her ear against it. Ever so faintly, she could hear sniffling and breathing coming from inside it.

For a moment, Riley wondered if she should really talk to Caroline after what she'd just done. She remembered that one day, after the first day of school, when she'd had her big blowup at her parents at the dinner table. Her father sent her to her room then. However, shortly afterwards, he came up to try and make things up to her.

Riley wanted to do what her parents would've done. So, she opened the door to the closet.

Sure enough, there was Caroline, huddled in a fetal position in the corner of the room. Even after all the hours that had gone by, she was still crying to herself. She barely reacted when Riley opened the door.

"...Caroline?" Riley said, approaching the little girl ever so slightly.

"Go away," Caroline retorted, in the midst of her crying. She shot a tear-filled stare at Riley, then turned away.

Riley nevertheless sat down in the closet next to her.

"Hey, it's alright, Caroline," She said soothingly, and reached over to try and touch Caroline's shoulder to sooth her. However, Caroline violently swatted her hand away.

"I said go away," Caroline retorted, a little more harsher this time.

"Why are you so upset?" Riley asked, a wave of confusion washing over her. "It was just a doll."

"No it wasn't!" Caroline shouted, stunning Riley. "I loved Shew, and you took her away from me!"

Riley was a little surprised at Caroline's outburst. She didn't say anything for a few moments; just sat there with Caroline.

Finally, she spoke. "Look, I see now that the doll meant something to you," Riley confessed to her. "I'm sorry. I was stupid."

Caroline gave Riley a small glance, then looked away. "She meant everything to me," Caroline replied softly.

Riley nodded. After a while, she rested her hand on Caroline's shoulder once more. This time, Caroline didn't react violently.

"I'm sorry," Riley repeated, a tear streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry."

Caroline finally turned to her. "I know," She replied.

Riley smiled, in spite of her tears.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	10. Twilight

_Boy Jav: I as trying to make destroying a doll as sad as it could be._

 _Oni the Shin-Akuma: Hm. Maybe it would work._

 _Js: Everyone has their breaking point, I guess._

 _I am a burglar: That doll was created by Caroline herself. It's not worth that much money._

 _Old man killjoy: No, she's still taking care of Caroline._

 _My lovely boy: Considering Caroline forgave Riley, maybe not._

 _The 397th Hero: She's four... it was mentioned in the chapter itself._

 _Rufflessss: If it works..._

 _Hcdbn: I just randomly googled an image of Riley to use. That one seemed to fit the tone of the story, so I used it._

* * *

Riley carried Caroline back to their room, smiling contently. When they entered, the pieces of the doll were still on the ground. Caroline looked somewhat uncomfortable staring at them, so she turned away.

Riley set Caroline down on the bed, stretched, and went over to get out her laptop. She lay in bed, turned it on, and went on Skype to chat with her old friend, Meg.

After a few minutes, Meg's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Rie!" She greeted, giving a bit smile.

"Hey, Meg, how have you been doing at home?" Riley asked, in a little bit more serious tone. Of course, the epidemic had spread to Minnesota, and she was just checking up on how things were going there.

"Oh, it's fine," Meg said, her smile dropping noticeably. "Anything interesting happening at San Francisco."

Riley took a few moments to think about things. During the several days that she'd taken part in Annis' law enforcement business, she hadn't told Meg about her endeavors.

"Well, I adopted this little girl," Riley said. As if on cue, Caroline's face appeared right in front of Riley's in the screen.

"Who's this girl?" Caroline asked, referring to Meg.

"Say hello to Meg, Caroline," Riley said with a smile.

"This girl kidnapped me!" Caroline shouted at Meg instead. "She's been taking part in this conspiracy run by some psycho girl named Annis, and they've been running around nabbing kids around the city and-"

"Okay, that's quite enough!" Riley shouted, shoving Caroline's face from the screen.

Meg had a blank look on her face. Riley shifted her eyes and shrank down into the bed.

"It's, uh, not quite what you think," Riley reassured. When Meg's expression didn't change, Riley pointed out, "It's for the good of the city."

Meg still had the blank stare on her face. Riley gulped, then quickly muttered, "Talk to you later, by!" With that, she shut off the laptop, and sighed in relief. Then she stared at Caroline.

"Look, kid, you don't just go around blurting things out to people," Riley scolded. "You could get in serious trouble."

Caroline didn't seem to be listening, however. Instead, she walked on the bed, facing the wall where several portraits were lined up. Only now was she taking notice of them.

Caroline skipped over to one of the portraits, showing Riley and Annis taking a selfie with each other.

"Hey, what's the deal with Annis?" She asked, holding the portrait in front of Riley. "Are you guys best buds or something?"

"I'm not best buds with anyone," Riley claimed. However, Caroline pointed out to several pictures showing Riley with her San Francisco friends.

"I beg to differ," She said in a snide tone. Then, she looked up at a portrait showing Riley with her parents.

"Are those your mum and dad?" She asked. Riley slowly nodded.

"They kind of look like my mommy and daddy," Caroline whispered sighing. She set the portrait down on the dresser. Slowly, she crawled into bed with Riley.

"I wonder when I'll see them again," She said before drifting off to sleep.

Riley tried to fall to sleep, too. But her eyes remained open the whole night.

* * *

"And then, Hansel and Gretel pushed the witch into the fire, and ran off to find their parents, The End," Madison finished her story of Hansel and Gretel to Brooke.

Brooke nodded. "So a bad person took people away against their will?" She asked. Madison nodded.

Brooke stared at Madison ominously, then nodded and flopped down onto her bed. "Isn't that an ironic story to tell," She mumbled.

Madison sat down with her. "Hey, we're not bad people," She assured Brooke. "We're just doing what's best."

Brooke turned away. "You know, I haven't seen my brother since you took us away," She pointed out. "I wonder where he is?'

"If he was around here, then we've most definitely found him," Madison reassured Brooke. "Now, get some sleep."

Brooke nodded, and closed her eyes as Madison shut off the lights.

* * *

Harold and Jake lay on opposite sides of their bed. "So, what's Annie planning again?" Jake asked.

"It's Annis, kid," Harold snapped at him. "You'll have to learn to remember that if she ever talks to you. Annis doesn't like it when her name gets mispronounced."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Jake said, shrinking into his bed.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you," Harold pointed out. "These are very dangerous times."

"But I thought you guys said you were trying to protect us," Jake pointed out.

"We are," Harold said quickly. "It's just dangerous whenever someone gets out of line. That's why, for the good of you and everyone else, you have to be in-line whenever you're around Annis."

Jake looked up at the ceiling. "Hey, what will happen when all of this ends, and there are no more needs for guns?" He asked.

Harold sighed. "I'm afraid there will always be a need for guns, when Annis is concerned," He confessed. "But you need not worry about that. You're not part of her law enforcements yet."

Jake nodded, though he was still unsure. Nevertheless, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _Read and review.  
_


	11. Power

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: You and me both._

 _Js: Well I did (attempt) to explain that in the first chapter. I doubt this story will have a sequel._

 _Hcdbn: Considering those "less-important" characters have arcs, too, I figured they should have some scenes to themselves._

 _Jake: Considering her "sister" got torn apart right in front of her, I think she's been punished enough._

 _Boy Jav:... Are you talking about yourself when you say "hooded vigilante"?_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Considering you're basically dead in this universe, she probably can't do anything anyways._

 _The 379th Hero: Let me see... NO!_

 _BladeRunner43: I doubt it would be by accident._

 _AnnaTheMockingjay: Thanks :)_

* * *

A few days later, Riley walked next to Annis, Madison and Harriet, like they used to. The only difference was that they were being flanked by a group of large, older boys, nearing their early teenage years. They were all big and vast, and were carrying guns for protection.

Every kid who saw them would walk the other way. Kids on the sidewalk skipped off onto the road, and those playing on the road would take off upon noticing them.

"Now this is a world I look forward to," Annis said with a smile. Riley, on the other hand, felt a sense of conflict. She'd always wanted people to like her; not run when they saw her. She almost felt like a leper that nobody wanted near them However, for Annis' sake, she said nothing.

As they passed by a fence, a Boston terrier dog ran up and started barking madly at them. The large boys jumped in shock, while Annis merely stopped and turned to face the dog. She bent down and looked the dog in the eyes.

Riley was no expert on dogs, but she was pretty sure you weren't supposed to stare a dog in the eyes. The dog stared silently for a few moments, then barked wildly. It ran across the fence, barking crazily.

Unexpectedly, Annis started screaming and shouting at the dog. For a few moments, the other kids thought she was scared; soon, however, they realized she was shouting so as to challenge the dog.

It seemed to work; the dog was quieted by Annis' screaming.

Annis rose up. "I like this dog," She claimed. "Take it with us."

The boys froze for a few moments. Annis shot a glare at them, and they nodded and raced off to the door of the fence, smashing it open. Riley, Annis, and the other continued running, and Riley wasn't surprised when she heard the sound of the dog biting someone, followed by a surprisingly high-pitched scream.

As they neared the hotel, Riley felt eyes on her. She looked around and saw the kids around the hotel glaring at her, in anger or fear. Riley began to shrink down under the glares.

Suddenly, Annis wrapped her arm around Riley. 'Have you ever felt such power?" She asked. Riley shrugged; ironically, she'd never felt so small.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when a snowball flew past her face, followed by a scream of pain. Annis had been struck in the face by a snowball.

Riley snapped her head around and saw a boy, who she knew was the culprit, dodge behind an old car. It appeared Annis knew, too, as she pointed at the car with one arm while holding her stinging cheek with the other.

"Get... him," She hissed to her guards. Immediately, one large boy lumbered over and grabbed the scrawny-looking kid by the arm. He dragged the kid out from behind the car. Riley was shocked at how thin the kid was compared to the giant, older boy holding him.

Riley saw a malicious grin form on Annis' face, and she instantly feared the worst. She crooked a finger, signaling for the boy to bring the culprit towards her.

Once the boy was near her, Annis pointed at her stinging cheek and hissed, "Is this supposed to be funny?" Instantly, the boy shrunk down under her.

Riley, hoping to diffuse the situation, took Annis to the side and whispered, "Hey, it was just a snowball. Maybe you should-"

Annis swatted Riley away. "I'm the leader of this city and I will NOT tolerate being disrespected, Riley!" She shouted at her. She pointed a finger at the hotel, silently ordering Riley to leave.

Riley knew she would do no help by staying, so she reluctantly walked towards the hotel. As she did, she heard the sounds of Annis shouting, followed by a large swatting sound, culminating in a scream from the young, tiny boy.

Riley flinched. She wasn't the one experiencing the pain, but she felt just as injured nonetheless.

* * *

When Riley reached the room, she found Caroline sitting on the bed.

"I heard a screaming sound coming from below," Caroline explained, her voice low. "Did something bad happen?'

Riley wasn't sure how to explain it to Caroline, so she sat on the bed next to her. "Sometimes bad things happen to people who don't quite deserve it," She said as simply as possible. "That's all I'm saying."

"Okay," Caroline said, resting on the bed next to her. In the days that had passed, Caroline had become more tolerable around Riley. She still hadn't gotten used to Annis, but Riley didn't blame her. Riley had also hidden the doll parts in a part of the room. Secretly, she was working on repairing it for Caroline.

Riley began to rest on the bed, thinking of all the glares the kids had given her. She'd felt downright dirty, being victim to all of those harsh stares. She silently wondered what the kids were thinking of her.

Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Madison. She had a panicked expression.

Riley knew from the expression on her face that something bad had happened. "...What is it?" She asked, fearful.

"It's Annis," Madison explained. "She's in trouble."

* * *

 _Read and review._


	12. The Alleyway

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Well, let's find out._

 _Js: End? There is NO WAY I'm ending this story now. We're hardly getting started._

 _Boy Jav: Eh, this is what happens when you give a twelve year old too much power._

 _BladeRunner43: You definitely are happy for that._

 _Hcdbn: Thank you :)_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Annis has a fragile ego; she'll do anything to preserve it._

 _Guest: You'll find out what trouble soon enough._

 _The 379th Hero: I've read ABOUT it._

 _Rufflessss: Well, that's what friends are for._

* * *

Prior to having gotten in the predicament she was now in, Annis had been wandering around the block without her guards to supervise her. It appeared this show of overconfidence had led to her getting jumped by a group of preteens, and now, she was cornered in an alley.

Annis found herself backed up against the wall, three boys and two girls blocking the exit. She could tell the kids were all piqued at her. She wouldn't be scared if it was just one of them, but now that they had her outnumbered, the only options she now had was try to run, or find a way to signal for help.

"Okay, what do you think you're doing?" Annis asked, looking for any possible escape roots.

The tallest boy pointed a finger at her. "The real question is what are you doing?" He asked her.

"Me?" Annis asked, shifting her eyes. "I'm just creating law and order."

"The kids around your fancy hotel haven't eaten anything in days," One girl pointed out angrily.

"Those kids are just being DIFFICULT!" Annis unexpectedly shouted. It was intentional, though; she was shouting so any nearby kids would hear her and come to her aid. She got off from the wall and took a few steps closer.

"Once they, and you, pledge themselves to me, you'll be free to eat again," Annis said, and then noticed that the kids looked rather malnourished.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!" The youngest boy shouted at her. The kids seemed to have gotten angrier now, and looked on the verge of attacking Annis. However, Annis noticed something they didn't.

"If it works," She said with a sly grin. Suddenly, one of the girls was snatched into the air. The other four assailants turned around to see Harriet throw the girl into a wall.

Riley, Madison, Harold, and even Caroline arrived on the scene, rushing to protect Annis. The older kids began to fight with Annis' assailants while Caroline watched in awe.

The kids were surprisingly good fighters; Harold knocked the wind out of one boy with a well-placed kick to the stomach; Madison lifted a girl into the air and dropped her onto the ground with a thud.

Riley grabbed onto the tallest of the five kids, and floored him with a left hook to the jaw. Caroline's jaw dropped when she saw that.

That only left one boy. He soon found himself cornered by Riley, Madison, and Harold, blocking all of his escape exits. Suddenly, he was grabbed by Annis and hoisted in the air.

"Looks like we just squashed a potential rebellion, guys!" She congratulated to her rescuers.

"We followed your screaming," Madison revealed. Annis was secretly glad her tactic had worked.

Annis threw the boy next to her other assailants, and her face darkened. "You five have been very bad kids," She snapped harshly. "And bad kids must be punished."

Looking up to the kids who had come to her rescue, Annis approached Riley and whispered into her ear. Caroline couldn't hear what Annis was saying, but she saw the way Riley's face dropped.

When Annis was done whispering, Riley looked to Caroline and said, "You should go home, kid."

Caroline nodded and skipped off. As she did, however, she wondered what Annis had said to Riley.

* * *

When Riley returned in the evening, Caroline was sitting on the bed, whistling. Riley looked ill and guilt-ridden as she sat down on the bed.

After a few moments, Caroline said, "I didn't know you could do that."

"What?" Riley asked, barely looking at Caroline.

"I didn't know you could fight like that," Caroline said, and made a punching motion in the air. "You knocked that boy out with one punch. Bam!" She swung her arm in the air in an imitation of Riley's left hook.

Riley softly giggled. "Yeah," She said. Then, her smile vanished and was replaced with a frown.

Caroline stopped smiling and inched closer to Riley. "What did Annis tell you to do?" She asked.

Riley groaned, still feeling the nagging guilt. "She told us to lock them up without food or water for three days," She admitted, guiltily. Caroline gasped.

'But, they could die," Caroline pointed out. "You can't go without food or water for that long, right?"

Riley groaned. "We have to punish them," She said. Caroline stared at Riley doubtfully, but nevertheless lay down on the bed.

Riley stared down at her, feeling the knot in her stomach grow. She bit down on her fingers, feeling sorry for what she'd done. Half of her wanted to just go to bed and pretend nothing ever happened; the other half wanted to make sure the captives were okay.

Riley lay on her bed, feeling her mind getting sore as she pondered which option to take. Which option to take...

Riley got out of bed. Then, she left the room.

* * *

A few captives sleeping in one of the buildings were awoken by a knocking sound. Stirring away, they saw Madison enter.

"You want these apples?" She asked quietly. She looked around, as if to make sure the coast was clear, then she snuck the apples onto the dresser of the room and vanished, as if she'd never been there.

Throughout the several buildings, some of the hotel kids began to sneak food into the buildings for the captives to eat. Nobody had told Annis; as they knew she would've forbidden in. Annis was asleep now, so she had no knowledge of what was happening.

Riley road her bike to where the kids had been locked up at. One guard, a very large boy with a gun, was waiting at the entrance.

'What are you doing here, Riley?" He asked when she arrived.

Riley ran off towards the guard and gave him some wrapped up bread. "Give this to the prisoners," She demanded.

"But, Annis said-" The guard started, but Riley cut him off by yanking on his collar.

"You tell those kids, for me, that I didn't mean to have them trapped here," She asked. 'But, I can't tell them if they're dead. Now, do it."

Without another word, Riley left on her bike, leaving the boy with the bread. He stared down at it, thinking hard. Then, he snuck in to do as Riley said.

He didn't tell Annis, too.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	13. Gunfight

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Yeah, but those kids were obvious weak from undernourishment._

 _The 379th Hero: It's funny, really; I didn't even realize my own symbolism in that chapter._

 _InsideLove: Thanks._

 _Hcdbn: This won't be Riley's last moment of awesomeness. As for Annis, sometimes you just can't get what you want._

 _Boy Jav: You don't have to be an adult to be messed up._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: She wouldn't listen to you._

 _Jake: Yes, because locking them up for three days without food or water isn't punishment enough._

 _Js: I'm glad I conveyed that convincingly._

 _I am a burglar: Does money even matter in a time like this?_

 _Rufflessss: If they did injure her, they'd have gotten a much worse punishment than what they got._

* * *

The next day was a violent and chaotic one.

A number of the kids in the city had found several guns that hadn't been taken by Annis' law enforcement, and tried to fight back. The hotel kids, who had expected a simple pillage as usual, were caught off-guard when the bullets started flying, and before long, both sides were trading bullets.

Of course, kids with no experience with firearms are horrible shots. The majority of the bullets flew off wildly into the air, but it was enough to keep the law enforcement under cover. Both sides hid behind cars or alleyways or tried to find some other way of safety.

Occasionally, a kid would get shot. The law enforcement weren't intending to kill anyone, so they mainly aimed for usually non-fatal areas. By contrast, their assailants were trying to kill.

Riley found herself clutched in a fetal position, using a car as cover from the bullets. She didn't dare rise up, because bullets were raining in her direction. As she had been in the front-lines when the law enforcers had arrived, she was at the heart of the battle.

Riley looked around, and saw some of her friends firing bullets from their shields. One girl was shot in the shoulder, and went down, clutching her bloodied shoulder.

Riley gasped and hid away as more bullets rained in her direction. In her mind, she asked herself how things had gone so violent, so quickly. She figured that it would've happened eventually, but she was still unprepared for the sheer brutality of it.

Annis was standing in the middle of her comrades, shouting and pushing them forward. She seemed lost in the battle.

Riley looked around and saw Madison dragging an injured boy behind a car. One of the large boys was there with her, holding a trash can. Riley didn't know why he was holding it until he threw it at their attackers, knocking them back and disorienting them.

Riley suddenly felt a burst of impulsiveness. She rushed out and managed to grab a manhole cover. She hid behind it, using it as a shield from the bullets. Then, she used all her strength to toss it, disc-like, at their enemies. The cover knocked a group of the kids back and onto the ground. The hail of bullets on their side stopped.

Seeing their chance, Annis' enforcers took off to apprehend them. Some were still firing bullets, but they were at a grievous disadvantage. They were swarmed by their enemies.

Riley lay face-first in the snow. She'd felt like she'd pulled a muscle in her arm from throwing the manhole cover. She managed to raise her head to see her allies take down the enemy. As she did, she noticed Annis give a celebration of their victory, hopping in the air like a toddler.

Riley felt someone hoist her onto her back, and saw Harold and Madison. Both looked bruised and dirtied from the fight, but they were nevertheless okay.

"Riley, are you alright?" Madison asked, holding Riley's head. Riley opened her mouth to try and say something, but she was too exhausted. She closed her eyes, and drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

When Riley woke up, she was in her room, surrounded by her friends. Caroline was sitting next to her.

"W-What happened?" Riley asked, still feeling drowsy. She rubbed her shoulder, and realized that her arm was okay now.

"You won us the fight, that's what," Harold revealed, placing a shoulder on Riley's shoulder and actually smiling for once. "You threw that cover like a pro! Their main offense was wiped out clean from it! We won, thanks to you!"

Riley managed a weak smile. "What happened to me?" She asked.

"You dislocated your shoulder," Annis revealed. "The other kids relocated it while you were unconscious. You were unconscious for ten hours, BTW."

It was only then that Riley realized that it was nighttime.

"You were awesome, Riley!" Caroline congratulated, hugging her. Riley was initially surprised, but she nevertheless returned the embrace.

"Thanks," She whispered.

"No, thank you," Harriet replied. "We might have not been alive today if it weren't for you."

Riley's smile grew bigger. She then turned to Annis.

"Yeah, you did a good job," She said bluntly, then turned to leave.

"I'm going to organize our new captives," She explained, then left the room. The other kids slowly disbanded from the room as well, leaving Riley with Caroline.

Riley collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Caroline crawled next to her. "That must've been awesome, to be there!" Caroline said to her.

Immediately, Riley saw flashbacks of the fight itself, and she snapped out of bed, horrified.

"No, it wasn't!" She shouted at her. "It was horrible! People were getting shot, and they were bleeding! Many were getting injured. It was terrifying! Never think something like that is awesome!"

Caroline seemed taken aback by Riley's outburst. Riley calmed down and sat down next to Caroline.

"I'm sorry, it's just, I never want to be in a situation like that, ever," She said, hugging Caroline. "I might not have survived, and if that happened, I would never be there for you."

Caroline nodded, letting a tear slip out. "I know," She said.

Riley began to whistle. It was Annis' Tune, the one she'd always use to ease Riley. Now, Riley whistled the same tune, to ease herself. And Caroline.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	14. Demonstration

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Wouldn't you while in the middle of a gunfight?_

 _The 379th Hero: I haven't read that book so the similarities are probably coincidental._

 _Boy Jav: You haven't seen anything yet._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: She still has a lot to get through, though._

 _Jake: Yeah, I'd rather get a spanking than that trapped without food or water for three days._

 _Js: I frequently go on TV Tropes, yes._

 _I am a burglar: BAM! BAM! BAM!_

 _Lazy arm: Her arm was fixed._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: You're telling the people with the guns to give them away?_

 _Hcdbn: I always think Star Wars Battlefront II when I do a fight like this._

 _Asits9: Would that have helped? I mean, a bullet couldn't torn into the car while she was inside it._

 _Guest: Yeah, the sisters are getting along now. But convincing Annis isn't as easy as it may seem._

 _Mom is the word: I agree with all of those points except for Annis._

 _Light Seeker 001: I'd take it Fear is running the heads of just about every kid. Annis' Tune is a whistle she would use to soothe Riley when she was upset._

 _Wow, this chapter got a lot of reviews. Keep them coming, and we may just reach 200 reviews._

* * *

The next day, Annis called out all of the kids for a demonstration. The hotel kids' assigned siblings were brought with them.

Riley hadn't been very trusting of Annis' intentions the moment she was called down. No way would Annis go through the trouble of getting everyone in the hotel and the other buildings outside unless it was important. Judging from the expression on Caroline's face, she was thinking the same thing.

When they arrived on the streets, Annis was waiting for them. She was holding something in her arms that was wrapped in a bundle. Riley was hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

Annis smiled once everyone arrived, then she looked around the crowd.

"Jimmy Jackson?! Jimmy Jackson?!" She shouted out. Riley pitied the poor soul who Annis had called for.

Slowly, a small, lanky boy, about a head shorter than Annis, walked out from the crowd. Annis was shifting impatiently as she waited for him to arrive.

Jimmy looked irritated at being called to attention like that. Riley didn't blame him.

When Jimmy was close enough to Annis, the older girl said, "I take it you'd like to join in my lower ranks? Help me establish order in this adult-free city?"

"No, ma'am,," Jimmy immediately declined, looking horrified. Riley admired that he was at least truthful, but she worried at how Annis would react.

'Surprisingly, Annis smiled and nodded. Then, she pulled out a gun, and Riley felt that she knew what Annis was going to do next. She was mistaken.

Annis didn't point the gun at Jimmy. She revealed the bundle to him, and he gasped.

"That's my sister!" He pointed out to Annis, who nodded.

"That's right," She said as she began to point the gun at the bundle. "Now, will you help me, or does your sister need to grow up with a cap in her head?"

Riley heard Caroline gasp and flinch. In fact, Riley herself was uncomfortable.

"Hey, let's go," Riley whispered to Caroline, and the two began to push through the crowd. Riley hoped that Annis wouldn't notice them leave. However, Riley faintly heard Annis stop talking, and felt as if she was watching her.

Her suspicions were proven correct when, just as they were out of the crowd, Madison grabbed Riley by the arm.

"Annis told me to come get you," She explained. 'She doesn't want you to leave."

Riley ushered Caroline to the other side of the hotel. "I'm doing this for her," She claimed.

"But if Annis finds out you skipped out on her, she'll get sad, and then she'll get mad, and then she'll-" Madison started, but stopped when she realized that Riley had already left.

Madison groaned. Whoever had to face Annis' wrath when this was all over, it definitely wasn't going to be her.

* * *

Riley and Caroline passed the time playing hockey with each other. Riley was reminded of when she was younger than Caroline, playing hockey with her parents. Granted, she was mainly doing it to get Caroline's mind of off what Annis had been doing.

As it turned out, Caroline was surprisingly good at playing hockey, especially for a four year old. She wasn't as good as Riley, of course, but she was still rather astonishing.

Caroline eventually got past Riley and made a rush to the net. Then, with almost perfect accuracy, she scored the goal. Riley was reminded of her own first score when she was a toddler.

"Look Riley, I won!" She said, throwing her arms into the air.

"Yes you did!" Riley said as she scooped Caroline into the air and hugged her. Secretly, she'd actually let Caroline win in order to give her something she could appreciate.

It was then that Riley noticed that the crowd had dispersed on the other side of the hotel.

"We should be going," Riley said as she carried Caroline off to the door of the hotel. Riley had hoped that Annis would've forgotten about her skipping out on her, but she was sorely mistaken.

When they reached the door, Annis was standing at the entrance, along with Brooke.

"Madison told me to wait here until you got back," Brooke explained. Riley set Caroline down, and she rushed to Brooke. Then, Caroline looked up to Annis.

"You two hurry inside," Annis said, shoving Caroline towards the door with her foot. The two younger girls vanished through the door.

Riley was quick to follow, until Annis said, "Not you."

Riley froze, a feeling of dread filling up in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, she turned around to face Annis, who approached her with warm smile on her face.

When the two were within arms-length of each other, Annis slid her hand through Riley's hair, luring her into a false sense of security. Just as Riley breathed in relief, Annis unexpectedly grabbed Riley's head and violently jerked it to the side, slamming her head against the wall.

Riley choked in pain, and felt Annis grip her shoulders with an iron-like grip, pinning her against the wall. Annis' eyes narrowed as she stared into Riley's fearful eyes.

"Riley, when I assigned Caroline as your sibling, I expected that you'd teach her my rules so she'd change to follow my lead," Annis hissed at her, causing Riley to timidly shrink down under Annis.

"Not so you could play kiddie games with her," Annis berated, her fists beginning to burn into Riley's arms like fire. Riley groaned, terror and anxiety burning in her stomach.

"I-I understand, Annis," She whispered, hoping to be relieved of some of her pain. As the words left her mouth, Annis' grip on Riley lessened. It still hurt, but she didn't feel like her arms were burning.

"Oh, Riley, my Riley, I knew I could count on you," Annis said in a jarringly sweet tone. She wrapped her arms around Riley's waist and hugged her tight. Riley didn't move from her spot. Usually, hugging gave her a sense of relief, but instead, she felt trapped.

Annis released Riley. "You can go to your room now," She said, brushing Riley's hair again. Riley nodded, more out of relief than happiness, and she slowly made her way into the hotel.

As she did, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been debased by her best friend.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	15. A Day in the Limelight

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: The lengths some people will go..._

 _Rsbaird: You haven't seen anything yet._

 _The 379th Hero: I'm wondering if Annis is my most evil villain. Time will tell._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: A frying pan will not help you against her._

 _Boy Jav: Let's just see what will happen._

 _Js: I always got the impression that Annis couldn't do anything because the adults were around to keep her in check, so she restrained herself. But, since the adults were gone now, she no longer had to restrain herself._

 _Hcdbn: Thank you, that was my intentions. Also, I take it you have siblings due to the 'big brother syndrome'?_

 _Jake: Forget it Jake, it's Kids Town (couldn't resist)._

 _Rufflessss: Understatement of the century._

 _SapStar: It gave me chills writing that ending part._

* * *

Later that day, Harriet and Madison walked through the streets, the former holding a megaphone to her mouth.

"Citizens of San Francisco, do not be afraid!" Harriet shouted out from the megaphone to anyone who may be listening. "We do not mean you harm! We are here to protect you! Join us, and we will not have to-"

Suddenly, Harriet experienced a kickback from the megaphone, sending a surge through her eardrums. Harriet shrieked in pain and covered her arms.

"Stupid megaphone!" She said angrily, beating on it so it would work properly. When it refused to work, Harriet groaned and tossed it to the side into an alley. The sound of a cat screeching was heard in the alley.

Behind the two girls, Jake stood next to Harold. "So, what is the point of all of this?" He asked.

"Annis wants us to rally more people to her side," He explained in an uninterested tone. "If that happens, we can take over this city more effectively."

Jake stayed quiet for a few moments. He stared off at the buildings, where the children were all hiding. After those moments passed, he asked, "Why would anyone want to join her?"

"Well, she does have followers," Harold said with a shrug. He put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, but why?" Jake asked. "Why follow an bad person?"

"Why did people follow Hitler?" Harold inquired. "Why did people follow Stalin? Why did people follow Bin Laden? Sometimes, the world is a tricky place, and you'll have to do things you don't like. Now be quiet before someone hears you."

Jake looked around to notice the big, burly kids with their guns in their muscled arms and fists, and he immediately quieted down.

Jake noticed Harold stalk off towards a giant, red motorcycle. Jake initially stayed where he was, until he looked to the left to see one of the big, burly boys right next to him. The larger boy looked down at him with his intimidating hazel eyes. Jake gulped, and sprinted off after Harold.

Harold was holding the handle of the motorcycle. "Hey, give me a boost," Harold ordered to Jake, who reluctantly agreed and pushed Harold on top of the motorcycle. The motorcycle was several inches taller than Harold, but he fitted on top of it perfectly.

"How do you work this thing?" He asked, and started pulling levers and handles.

"Dude..." Jake said, taking a few steps back. He may not have been too fond of Harold yet, but he wasn't sure he wanted him to get hurt on that motorcycle.

As if Harold were reading his mind, the red-headed boy assured, "Don't worry, my dad was a mechanic. Okay, just a few more... seconds..."

The motorcycle engine revved up, and it sped off down the streets. "Geronimo!" Harold shouted as the motorcycle zipped down the streets and right past Harriet and Madison. Then, in a few seconds, he vanished.

"...Harold?" Jake asked, somewhat concerned. For a few moments, there was no sign of them. Then, Jake faintly heard shouting, and Harold was soon driving right towards him on top speed.

"Oh... shi-" Jake started but was cut off when Harold snatched him into the air on the motorcycle. Jake screeched in terror as Harold kept hold of him on the speeding motorcycle as the drove across the street.

"Best day ever!" Harold shouted as he spun the motorcycle into the opposite direction.

"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Jake shouted as he held onto Harold to keep from falling off.

"If we die, I'll let you know," Harold replied over the howling of the engine. His hair waved off in the wind.

"Wait, what did you say?!" Jake shouted, but Harold didn't have time to reply, as the two rode off a conveniently-placed ramp. The two screamed out, one in thrill and the other in terror, as the soared through the air.

"WE'RE...GONNA...DIE!" Jake shouted at the top of his lungs. As his finished his panic-induced scream, the two plummeted, motor-cycle and all, into a pile of snow, breaking their fall.

After a few minutes, Harold and Jake popped out of the snow.

"That was awesome!" Harold shouted, feeling an adrenaline rush from the motorcycle riding. His hair was covered in snow and his glasses had fallen down his face.

"You nearly got us killed, you freak!" Jake shouted at him, a beard made of snow having formed on his face. After calming down, he then said, "At least it's over."

"Over?" Harold asked. "Do you know how much potential this is? We rode a motorcycle. Do you have any idea how much other things we can ride?"

Jake stared at Harold, and gulped. "...What?" He asked.

"Come on, I found an operable car a few blocks away," Harold said, and grabbed Jake by the leg and started dragging a kicking and screaming Jake down the street.

* * *

Riley had finished showering, and wrapped a towel around her body as she got out of the shower. She put on her pajamas, and left the bathroom.

"Hey, what did Annis have to talk to you about this morning?" Caroline asked as she sat, cross-legged, on the bed.

"Oh, it was nothing," Riley replied casually, shrugging. She lay on the bed next to Caroline, and prepared to doze off to sleep.

"Hey, what happened to your arm?" Caroline asked. Riley stared at Caroline, confused, and then looked at her arm. It was then she noticed the bruises that she'd gotten from Annis.

"I tripped," Riley excused, hoping that Caroline would be naive enough to fall for it.

"Did Annis do that?" Caroline asked. Riley knew that it was the first thing that had popped into Caroline's head.

After a moments hesitation, she said, "No."

"You hesitated," Caroline pointed out. Riley nearly said that curse word, but restrained herself since she was in front of a four year old girl.

As a distraction, Riley did the first thing that came to mind. "Hey, who's the birthday girl?" She asked as she pinned Caroline down playfully and began ticking her stomach. Caroline immediately burst down laughing.

"But... it's not... my birthday!" Caroline shouted amidst her laughing.

"Party? Who's having a party?!" Riley asked as she continued to tickle Caroline. The young girl continued to laugh as she struggled against Riley.

"We are!" She said, laughing.

Riley had a big smile on her face as she tickled Caroline, but secretly, she was nervous. She had just narrowly dodged the bullet there, and taken Caroline's mind off of Annis.

But she could only wonder how long she could keep it up.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	16. Change

_Al Drin Hoshizora: You know, at first, I didn't get that. I thought you were referring to his 'if we die, I'll let you know' line. Looking back, that was a rather silly thing to assume._

 _Boy Jav: Eventually, I will._

 _I am a burglar: Be more careful next time._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Sometimes, the wrong people get to be in power. I could easily imagine someone like Riley being in charge, if she could assert herself more._

 _TheOneAndOnly1993: Game over._

 _The 379th Hero: No. Sorry for being blunt._

 _Hcdbn: Well, I did need a balance. Too much grimness could result in apathy from the viewers. I wanted to show that there was still a chance of hope._

 _Light Seeker 001: I actually did want to make a point of how "adult" the kids could get. Also, *spoiler alert*, the driving thing will come back later on._

 _As for Beep's B, Annis wouldn't shoot Riley because they're friends, (at least, they are for now)._

* * *

Things were changing. It took Riley some time to notice, but things were definitely changing.

The city was starting to seem emptier, more vacant. Most of the kids remained in their houses or buildings to avoid Annis and her followers. There were a few kids outside, but they didn't do anything. They just loitered around, watching as the law enforcers passed them by.

Riley heard them whispering about her as she passed by.

"Look, it's Annis' second-in-command. I wonder what she's planning to do to us."

"She's probably spying on us to go tattle to Annis and take away our free-will."

"She's probably listening in on us right now."

Riley tried to ignore it, but when people are talking about you behind your back, it's hard to pretend it's not happening. Occasionally, Riley would look over her shoulder and stare at the kids gossiping about her, and they would quiet down and stare in the opposite direction, pretending not to notice her. Then, when she turned around, they would resume talking to her.

Riley wished her friends were around to comfort her. She'd noticed that she'd been seeing them less and less as the days had gone by. Riley had almost forgotten how long it had been since their first mission. However long it was, she'd noticed that Annis and her friends had been too preoccupied lately. Annis was often shut away in her room, and her friends were often out on more missions. Riley mainly saw them when they were out pillaging the city.

Suddenly, a snowball struck Riley in the back of the head. She swirled around, eyes ablaze as she was broken out of her thoughts. A few kids were standing in front of her, near a car. They gasped when she glared at them.

Riley growled and lunged at them, grabbing the nearest girl and hoisting her out from the car. The other children screamed and began to run off.

Riley clenched her fist as she held onto the girl, her face red with anger. She brought it back to punch the girl, but stopped. She looked around, and noticed the other children, staring at her in surprise.

Riley remembered, weeks ago, when Annis had a similar reaction to getting hit with a snowball. Trembling, she released the girl, who ran off. Riley began to shake as she realized how close she had been to sinking to as low as Annis.

Riley ran. She couldn't bare to be outside with people she wasn't familiar with judging her. She had to be in the hotel, with the people she was close to.

She burst through the door of the hotel, rushing past people she vaguely knew. She'd quip a "Hi!" or "How's it going?" But she didn't get a reaction. The kids seemed too occupied in their own situations.

Riley rushed into the elevator. She found herself with the same set of girls she'd been with the day Annis announced her idea to the hotel. She noticed that they were with their assigned siblings.

"Hi," She said, hoping to stir a positive reaction. She put on a smile, despite her mixed feelings.

"Hey," One of the girls said apathetically, her face dull. She then looked the other direction. Riley's face fell, and she shifted a few feet away.

The elevator door opened, and the girls walked out. Riley then headed towards Annis' room, at the top of the hotel.

When Riley reached the room, she pressed her ear against the door. She heard Annis and a few other kids talking inside, though she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Hesitantly, Riley knocked on the door.

There was a pause, and finally, the door creaked open to reveal one of the large, intimidating boys that often surrounded Annis.

"Come in, miss," The boy said in a brooding tone. Riley walked in, and saw Annis at her desk, staring at a piece of paper. She was surrounded by her bodyguards, and a skinny, impish boy wearing glasses.

"I want you to station the strongest boys and girls here," Annis demanded, pointing a ruler at a part of the paper. Riley slowly approached, and noticed that the paper was a sketch of the city.

"Hey, Annis," Riley said.

"Hi," Annis replied, not bothering to look Riley in the face. She quickly resumed ordering around the boys.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked, staring down at the paper. This time, it was the boy who responded.

"You see this part of the city?" The small boy asked, pointing at a large section of the sketch that had been colored black. "This is the part of the city that we have control over. You'll notice that we've taken over most of the city in the three months that we've been establishing order."

 _Three months?_ Riley thought, astounded. _We've been at this for three months?_

"Annis told us to station our enforcers at any possible escape routes out of the city," The boy explained, a timid smile on his face. "Just, to avoid anyone getting out and revealing more about our plans."

"What plans?" Riley asked, confused. "Aren't we just taking over the city?"

"Well..." The boy said, but Annis slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Enough, Jerry," She said, shoving him off.

"Annis, is there anything I can do for you?" Riley asked.

"Riley, I don't have time for you right now," Annis said, looking exasperated. "Why don't you spend time with your little doll?"

Riley wanted to persist, but she knew it was useless. Slowly, Riley left the room, and the large boy shut it the second she left.

Riley sighed as she stood in the hallway. Annis may not have known it, but she'd actually hurt Riley's feelings. But, Riley reasoned that Annis had a point. She should be going to spend time with Caroline. After all, she needed it the most.

As she walked off to find Caroline, she bumped into Madison and Brooke.

"Oops, sorry," Was her immediate response. "What are you two doing?"

"We were going to the pool," Madison explained. "I'm teaching Brooke to swim. The kid's a natural. Who knew having a little sister could be so much fun?!"

"...Yeah," Riley said, lost in her thoughts.

"Well, bye," Madison said as she walked off, holding hands with Brooke.

"Huh," Riley said, and a small smile formed on her face. At the very least, not everything had changed for the worst.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	17. Protect

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Let's just hope you pull your punches._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Because she is._

 _The 379th Hero: What, exactly? You should've been more specific._

 _Js: Yeah, it's San Francisco move all over again, just without all the adults and more chaos._

 _Hcdbn: Thank you._

 _Guest: You know, I looked up Lord of the Flies, and one character reminded me of Annis. But, it wasn't Jack; it was Roger._

 _Light Seeker 01: Originally it was just ONE month. Now how disturbing would THAT have been._

 _A: I'll make a longer chapter eventually._

 _I am a burglar: You sure you want to try that?_

* * *

Caroline had spent some time simply pacing through the hotel. No particular reason besides simply being bored in her room.

"Riley's kind of nice," She thought aloud to herself. "Maybe she is a good sister after all."

She was disrupted by her thoughts when she heard a terrified scream coming from down the hallway, followed by mischievous giggling. As Caroline approached the source of the sound, she saw a girl, being harassed by a group of slightly older girls.

The group was touching the lone girl and forcing unwanted kisses on her. The girl was attempting to flee, but the group had her pinned to the wall.

Caroline, probably against her better judgement, immediately stepped out and demanded, "Stop it!"

The girls stopped and released the lone girl, who took the opportunity to flee. By now, Caroline realized what a disadvantage she was in now. All of the girls were much older and bigger than she was, and before she herself could run, they had her surrounded.

"And just who are you to order us around?" The tallest girl, whom Caroline assumed to be the leader, asked.

Caroline was too nullified to properly answer. She fumbled her words, trying to find a way to respond.

"You stay out of our way, kid!" Another girl sneered, and shoved Caroline down. At that point, Caroline instinctively got up and landed a left hook into the girl's face, trying to copy Riley's punch she'd seen in the alley.

The girl stumbled into the other girls, knocking them down. Caroline took the opportunity to run down the hallway.

"Get her!" The tallest girl demanded. The girls got up and started to chase Caroline down the hallway. Soon, they were only inches away from her.

Caroline knew she had no chance of outrunning the older girls. However, just before one of the girls could grab her, Caroline heard a collision right behind her. Stopping in her tracks, she spun around to see Riley, slamming one of the girls into the wall. Caroline immediately realized that Riley had seen the girls chase her and had intervened.

Riley threw the girl a few feet away. Two girls approached her, but Riley shoved the first one off and then swatted the other in the face, knocking her down. The tallest girl pushed her, but Riley proceeded to deck her square in the nose, knocking her down.

Soon, Riley stood over the group of girls. The tallest girl was holding her nose, which was bleeding from Riley's punch.

"You leave my sister alone," Riley said, standing tall above the other girls, her fists clenched and raised to her face in preparation for a fight.

The girls got up. They still had Riley outnumbered. However, Riley shielded Caroline, refusing to let the girls pass.

"Your brat punched me in the face!" One of the girls said, and tried to sidestep Riley to get to Caroline. However, Riley punched the wall an inch away from the girl's face, warning her to back off.

"Whatever she did, I'll handle it, not you," Riley said, glaring into the girl's eye. The tallest girl shoved the other girl away and stared off with Riley.

"You're in no need to order us around, girl," She threatened, standing up, a little taller than Riley. However, Riley wasn't scared; the girl still had her nosebleed from Riley punching her. Riley stood her ground and stared at the girl defiantly.

The two stared at each other silently, but Riley eventually won the standoff. The tallest girl dismissively said, "Whatever. Let's go." With that, she and the other girls walked in the opposite direction.

The moment they were gone, Riley turned down to Caroline and hoisted her into the air.

"What was that about?" She asked as she carried Caroline to her room.

"They were ganging up on one girl, and kissing her, and she didn't like it," Caroline said. Riley tried to picture the image, and had an idea of what was going on. Her face contorted into disgust.

"So, I walked in, and I punched one," Caroline said proudly. "It was just like how you punched that boy in the alley."

Riley nodded with a smile. Secretly, she wasn't very proud of Caroline copying violence, but by now, she didn't plan on telling Caroline this.

Caroline's face fell into sorrow. "Riley, I think this has gone far enough," She pointed out. "Those law enforcer kids are no doubt picking on those captives, and Annis is letting them. You need to stop it."

Riley stopped walking just as she was in front of the door. Her face zoned off, at a loss for words.

"R-Riley?" Caroline asked when she noticed Riley's blank face. The older girl didn't say or do anything; instead she just stood at the door, almost as if she was frozen in place.

 _Maybe she is right,_ The voice in Riley's head was telling her. _Things have gone on far too long._

Riley finally snapped out of her trance. "What do you suppose I should do?" She asked, turning the handle of the doorknob and opening the door. She carried Caroline instead and lay her down on the bed.

"I don't know," Caroline said as she sat on the bed. "Maybe, you could just ask."

Riley sat down on the bed, drumming her fingers. She shifted her eyes, looking conflicted.

 _Come on, Riley, it's the right thing to do. Do it for Caroline._

"Alright," Riley said with a sigh as she got out of bed. "I'll ask."

Caroline's face lit up hopefully, but Riley stern-fully added, "But that's not a guarantee things will work out."

With that, she walked to the door, and exited the room.

* * *

Riley didn't go to Annis. She was too nervous to. Instead, she went to the second-best person she thought she could trust.

"So, Harold, I've been thinking that maybe we should stop this," Riley suggested to Harold. The older boy was sitting on his bed, cleaning his glasses, looking half-involved in what Riley was saying. A simple "Uh-huh," Was what signaled Riley to continue.

"I mean, we've made a lot of progress and all, but maybe we should just stop things were it is," She suggested, shrugging. "Don't you agree?"

Harold put his glasses on and got up. "Well, Riley, whether I agree or not, it's out of my hand," He pointed out. "There's only one person you can ask if you want to stop this."

"Who?" Riley asked, already knowing the answer.

Harol leaned in close into Riley's face. "Annis," Was all he said, and a malicious grin formed on his face. With that, he exited the room, leaving a stunned Riley inside.

The moment he was outside, Harold turned to Jake, who had been waiting outside.

"You ready for this, kid?" He asked. Jake nodded, and put on his helicopter goggles. Harold grinned, and put on his own goggles.

The two boys looked out the window, and stared out at the helicopter that had been placed in the middle of the road, carried by Annis' burly guards.

The helicopter that they were going to fly.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	18. Degraded

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: In that case, Fear's going to have to stop driving for now._

 _Js: Let's face it, there's no way there'd only be one bad person in a story like this._

 _Hcdbn: I'll do just that._

 _The 379th Hero: Annis doesn't even know about the helicopter._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Annis would probably order you killed if she found you out._

 _Boy Jav: Well that's what happens when you the wrong people try to establish order._

 _Nyanyanya22: Someone's blood-thirsty._

 _I am a burglar: Why take money from someone who doesn't have any?_

 _Light Seeker 001: There HAVE been cases of this, as much as I wish it weren't real. As for Harold, he's pretty much biting off more than he can chew by trying to fly a helicopter._

 _BladeRunner43: Thank you._

* * *

Riley timidly walked to the pool area, where the other kids had said Annis was at. Riley expected that Annis was swimming there.

Riley wrung her hands, unsure of what she should say. How could she get Annis to listen to anything she had to say, especially if it conflicted with Annis' views. Riley soon stood at the door leading to the pool, and took a deep breath as her hand moved to the handle. Then, Riley closed her eyes, and opened the door.

Instead of seeing Annis swimming, Riley was surprised to see Annis, at the edge of the pool, holding a girl's head underwater.

"You don't run away from here, Angelia," Annis told the girl as she held her head underwater, the girl thrashing violently. "You're place is here, in the-"

Annis paused when she noticed Riley staring at her. Quickly, Annis released the girl, who was half-conscious by now, and got to her feet, putting an innocent smile on her face. She crossed her arms behind her back, tilted her head, and crossed her legs.

"Hey, Riley," She greeted, acting as if Riley hadn't seen her display of violence only seconds before.

Riley stood at the door, frozen as she suddenly forgot what she was going to say. Her mouth hung open, but no words came out. Her eyes wandered to the girl at Annis' feet, and for a few seconds, she wondered if Annis would do that to her if she spoke out against her.

"Riley?" Annis asked, concerned, when she noticed Riley's expression.

Riley instantly snapped out of her thoughts and timidly asked, "Hey, Annis, you want to join me at the diner?"

Annis's smile vanished for a few seconds, then reappeared.

"Why not?" She asked. "I'll go get our friends."

As Annis skipped past Riley, the blonde girl breathed heavily, feeling like she had just dodged a bullet. She was just hoping she could dodge the second.

* * *

Soon, Riley, Annis, Harriet and Madison sat at the diner, eating their food. The only one not eating was Riley. She secretly gave the food to the captive children, who were hiding under the table.

Annis was whistling Annis' Tune, giving a sense of peace to Riley. In spite of Riley's muddying opinion of her best friend, Annis' Tune still soothed her.

"So, Riley, what did you want to talk to me about?" Annis abruptly asked.

Riley paused. "What did you mean?" She asked.

"At the pool, you looked like you wanted to talk to me about something, but forgot, so you used the diner as a detour," Annis pointed out. Riley suddenly felt a sense of anxiety in the pit of her stomach.

"Is something troubling you?" Harriet interjected. Annis shot her a glare, and the girl quieted down immediately.

Riley took a deep breath, then quickly said, "I was thinking that maybe we should stop this."

It took Annis a few moments to figure out what Riley was getting at. Her eyebrows lowered and her smile turned to a frown. "And why would I do that?" She asked, her voice no longer comforting.

Riley paused for a few moments, feeling somewhat intimidated. "Well, it's just, Caroline asked me-"

"Caroline?" Annis asked, her voice leaning on a shout. "So this is about Caroline? You're following what a little girl says instead of what I say?"

"No, it's not like that," Riley said, getting defensive as she began to inch away from the table. By now, all eyes were on Riley and Annis. Riley remembered a similar incident at the diner beforehand, only this time, Annis wasn't planning on finding an easy way out.

"So you think that girl is more important than me?" Annis accused, her muscles tensing. "Is that right?"

Suddenly, Riley felt a sense of anger. "No, it's not like that!" She shouted at her. "What is your problem? Just- just leave me alone!"

Annis paused, shocked that Riley had just shouted at her. Riley herself was surprised at her own outburst. Instantly, everything went quiet. Nobody dared to speak a word.

Finally, Annis' eyebrows furrowed and she glared. Then, she slowly got out of her chair and stood up. Riley suddenly felt smaller, weaker, and shrunk down into her chair.

"Riley," Annis said coldly. "Need I remind you that I was the one who let you live in MY hotel. It it weren't for me, you'd still be living in your mangy neighborhood. So this is how you repay my kindness?"

Annis took a step forward, and Riley got out of her chair and backed away. "Now, Annis, you know I didn't mean-"

"Mean what?" Annis asked, getting closer. "You didn't mean to hurt my feelings by saying that Caroline was more important than me?"

"Now, Annis, I didn't say that," Riley retorted hesitantly, backing up against the wall. Annis approached her and cornered her against the wall.

"Now you're accusing me?" Annis asked, sounding upset. Riley shrunk down the side of the wall, Annis standing over her. She lowered her head and covered her face.

"I'm sorry," She said, fearful of what Annis had planning. Instead, a comforting hand slid over Riley's head, and lifted her face up to Annis, who was smiling again.

"That's better," She said and helped Riley to her feet. She wrapped her arms around Riley and half-dragged her to her chair. Riley had a bewildered expression as she was seated by the same girl who'd been on the verge of attacking her moments before.

Riley secretly hoped this would be the last of their dispute for now. However, when Annis remained behind Riley, she knew she'd hoped for too much.

"Now, I think we need a show of respect," Annis said, grabbing Riley's shoulders and keeping her in her chair. Riley looked around at all the kids staring at her, feeling embarrassed.

"Now, what is going to happen?" Annis asked Riley. When Riley didn't answer, Annis lightly struck her in the temple.

"We-We're going to establish order," Riley said hesitantly. Annis nodded.

"And I'm right," Annis said. Riley paused again, so Annis struck her harder.

"Y-You're right," She stuttered out, feeling degraded.

"You're stupid," Annis egged on. Riley could tell that Annis was enjoying humiliating her.

'I'm... stupid," She muttered out. She realized that this was her punishment.

"You're selfish, and cruel, and hurtful."

"I'm selfish, and cruel, and hurtful."

Riley looked down, feeling humiliated and not wanting to see everyone staring at her. However, Annis yanked on Riley's hair, forcing her to stare at everyone else.

"Look at them, Riley," Annis said. "They'll learn much from this."

Riley squeezed her eyes, debased. She'd failed Caroline. How could things get any worse?

As it turned out, they could.

* * *

"Harold, are you sure about this?" Jake asked as he and Harold sat in the seat of the helicopter. Harold was currently turning on the engine.

"Of course I'm sure," Harold replied casually as the engine turned on. He grabbed the steering wheel in preparation for flight.

The helicopter blades began to spin, and the vehicle started to lift into the air. The kids surrounding them began cheering for the two.

"We-We're flying," Jake said in shock as the helicopter was lifted into the air. Harold grinned as the helicopter started to fly up the side of the hotel.

'I told you it would fly," Harold replied. Suddenly, the helicopter stopped moving. The engines started to shut down, and the blades stopped moving.

"Or not," Harold said. Turning to Jake, he said, "You may want to unbuckle your seat-belt."

"Wait, what?" Jake asked. Immediately, Harold dove at Jake, grabbed him, kicked open the helicopter door, and dove out with Jake in his grasp. As they did, the helicopter started to plummet out of the air.

Jake screamed as he and Harold plummeted towards the ground, but Harold suddenly activated his parachute. Immediately, the two floated harmlessly in the air, Harold holding onto Jake.

"Well that was a disaster," Harold lamented as the helicopter fell. It plummeted towards the ground and burst into flames upon impact. The force of the explosion blasted Harold and Jake away, but they nevertheless landed without injury.

The helicopter had caught flames right next to the diner. The children noticed the fire, including Annis.

Immediately, Annis let go of Riley and turned to stare at the fire. She watched it thoughtfully, and then, a smile formed on her lips as she formed a plan.

"We're going on another mission," Annis said. She turned to leave, but paused and said, "Oh, and I want you all to bring your assigned siblings with you."

"What?" One boy asked.

"Just do it!" Annis shouted, and she stared at Riley with a malicious gleam in her eyes. Riley shrunk down, feeling lower than dirt. She knew that whatever Annis had planned, it involved Caroline.

And that was definitely not good.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	19. Arson

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: You and me both, buddy._

 _Js: Riley was more trying to appeal to Annis at that point, rather than try to stand up to her. She honestly wasn't trying to elicit a confrontation._

 _The 379th Hero: Well, if you think about it, since Annis was close to Riley, then the helicopter would crush both Annis and Riley. We wouldn't want that, right?_

 _Korrasami 88: Read chapter 1 for explanation._

 _Rufflessss: Yeah, but it would also end the story way too quickly._

 _Hcdbn: Funny how you want Annis to burn, considering what happens in this chapter..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: For some reason, the only thing I'll discuss is the boys. Of course two boys don't know how to ride a helicopter._

 _Light Seeker 001: I don't know why I want to discuss this, but an interesting fact about sociopaths is that they aren't born; they're made, whereas psychopaths are born that way._

 _I am a burglar: You want to steal something at a time like this?_

 _Superstar:...That does't rhyme O.o_

 _Your momma: Humiliation and humility are two different things._

 _Melodie: I'd update whether you told me or not._

 _Voodootamer90: Your wish is my command._

* * *

Soon after, Annis led a crowd of her enforcers and the other children through the streets.

Riley held hands with Caroline as they walked through the crowd. As they did, Caroline looked up to Riley and asked, "Riley, why do you have tape over your mouth?"

Riley, who indeed had a strap of duct-tape covering her mouth as an added punishment from Annis, shrugged. She tried to mumble out a few words, but nothing got out. Riley was currently on the verge of tears from her humiliation, but she held herself back, not wanting to look bad in front of Caroline.

The kids reached a line of buildings near the Golden State Bridge. Riley couldn't help but wonder why it was called that, since it wasn't golden. However, she snapped her attention back to Annis, who was walking in front of a building. Riley noticed a few kids in the building, peeking out of the windows and staring down at the crowd in bewilderment.

Annis turned around, a gleeful grin on her face, and crooked her finger, signaling for one of her burly bodyguards to come up. The boy was holding a can of gasoline.

When the boy was close enough to Annis, she then turned to the crowd. Riley instinctively pulled deeper into the crowd, not wanting Caroline or her to be noticed. She hid Caroline behind her, hoping that Annis wouldn't notice then.

A feeling of dread built up in the pit of Riley's stomach when Annis approached the crowd, who all began to make room for her to pass. She walked through the crowd of kids, inspecting each of them closely. Riley walked deeper into the crowd, praying that Annis wouldn't-

"Riley."

Riley slowly opened her eyes to see Annis standing in front of her, her arms folded and a taunting smile on her face. Annis slowly approached Riley and lightly pushed past her, looking down until she saw Caroline.

"Caroline, is it?" Annis asked, and knelt down until she was at the young girl's eye level. Caroline meekly looked away as Annis stared into her face.

"You want to come with me?" Annis asked in a sweet tone. She glanced up quickly at Riley, then back to Caroline. The red-headed girl refused to say anything; Riley had told her never to speak out against Annis, and since she had nothing else to say, she remained silent.

Brooke, who had been standing with Madison next to Caroline, leaned over and whispered, "Well, talk to her."

Annis lay her hand on Caroline shoulder. "Come on, you'll learn something from it," She cooed. Caroline turned to look at her, and Annis stood up to Riley's height.

Caroline looked to Riley, trying to seek an answer. Riley bit her lower lip, trying to find an answer, then took a step away meekly. Annis bent down and held a hand out for Caroline to hold.

After a moment's hesitation, Caroline cautiously held hands with Annis, who began to walk her to the building. Caroline turned to stare at Riley, but the blonde girl avoided her gaze, feeling a sense of indignity.

Madison tapped Riley on the shoulder and turned her around. With Annis not paying attention, Madison ripped the duct tape off of Riley's mouth. The girl gasped in relief, finally able to breath properly again.

Annis signaled to the boy, and he started to pour the gasoline on the building, spreading it around. The kids in the crowd gasped; the kids in the building screamed and started to scramble for their doors to try and escape outside.

When the boy was finished, Annis led Caroline to the door of the building, knelt down, and pulled a match out of her pocket. Riley stared at it, and gasped. She wanted to rush out and get Caroline to safety, but something was holding her still.

Annis lit the match, and held it in front of Caroline, the fire illuminating Caroline's confused face and Annis' malicious one.

"Drop this into the water," She told Caroline. "The fire will be put out."

Caroline looked down at the gasoline. "That doesn't look like water," She pointed out. Annis nevertheless placed the match in Caroline's small hand.

"Oh, it's easy," She encouraged, shoving Caroline towards the gasoline. Riley took a few steps closer, hoping to dash over and grab Caroline if things got too violent.

Caroline hesitantly held the match in her hand, unsure of what to do. "Come on, do it," Annis said, holding Caroline closer to the gasoline. "All you need is a little... push!"

With that, she slapped Caroline on the back. The girl stumbled and dropped the match, right into the gasoline. Instantly, the fire roared and spread across the building. Like a tidal wave, it soared around the building, engulfing it quickly in flames. Screams of terror began to erupt from within the building.

Annis pulled a horrified Caroline up into the air, holding her close to the burning building. Riley, choking back screams, began to stagger towards the building. She could see the children inside try to escape.

A window burst open in flames, and Annis dropped Caroline. The young girl stared at the intense fire, and slowly got up, stumbling backwards. Then, she ran.

"Caroline!" Riley shouted as she stopped at the building. She could feel the scorching heat on her skin, and wondered how Annis was withstanding it. Annis was smiling, enjoying the fire. The rest of the crowd began to approach the fire cautiously.

Riley turned to the bridge, and saw Caroline running across it, her sobs echoing into the air.

"Caroline!" Riley shouted, and raced after her. She ran across the bridge, to get to Caroline. She heard Annis call her name, but she ignored it. Her only focus was on getting Caroline back now.

* * *

It took Riley forever, but she finally found her.

In the forest, Riley followed the sounds of Caroline's quiet sobbing. It didn't take long until she found the girl, sitting atop a tree branch, facing the opposite direction.

Riley stared up at her, somewhat humiliated. She didn't know how she could face her assigned sibling after letting her down in front of everyone. Slowly, she climbed up the tree towards Caroline, who didn't even respond.

Riley climbed to the tree branch and took a seat next to Caroline. The two sat there, neither of them saying a word.

After a few minutes, Caroline whispered, "Why didn't you do anything?"

Riley shuffled a bit, feeling like the answer was easy, and yet having such a hard time trying to explain it. How could she tell Caroline that her fear was what held her back?

"Family is supposed to protect each other, right?" Caroline asked. Her hair flowed in the breeze.

"Yeah," Riley said. Before Caroline could respond, Riley said, "I'm young, like you. You may look to me for answers, but the truth is, I'm still learning myself. You may not know it, but sometimes, I feel lost, and afraid, and vulnerable."

Caroline stared at Riley, a little awed at the revelation. Caroline had figured that Riley, being older, would have had much more experience with the world.

"Sometimes, I don't know what to do, like you," Riley said, resting her hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Sometimes, I wish I had someone to turn to. Sometimes... I wish my mom and dad were here."

Riley started to let a few tears stream down her face. Ironically, despite her attempts to soothe Caroline, she herself was crying now.

Suddenly, Riley felt Caroline wrap her arms around her in a comforting hug. "I wish my mom and dad were here, too," She confessed, resting her head on Riley's shoulder. Tears streamed down her face, but a smile formed.

Riley hugged Caroline back, not hiding her tears anymore. She smiled, too.

"Let's go home," Riley whispered to Caroline.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	20. Manslaughter

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Well, Firefly is probably dead, considering the epidemic and whatnot._

 _Korrasami 88: Annis simply doesn't grasp that._

 _Rsbaird: I'd tell you it was the worst of it, but I don't like lying._

 _The 379th Hero:The helicopter would have to crash into the diner though._

 _Js: I guess she crossed the Moral Event Horizon._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Some kids survived, others didn't. Funny how your two favorite fanfiction villainesses are both twelve year old girls._

 _Boy Jav: Who doesn't hope Riley hits Annis?_

* * *

Riley carried the half-asleep Caroline in her arms as she passed over the Golden State Bridge. However, crossing it peacefully proved harder than expected.

When Riley was midway across the bridge, it was flooded with hundreds of kids, many of which from the still-burning building. Annis' law enforcers were spreading around the bridge, trying to capture the runaway children.

Riley looked in all directions, but everywhere she looked, all she saw were kids violently wrestling and apprehending each other.

"What... what's happening?" Caroline asked, still half-asleep.

"Nothing," Riley assured, and tried to ease her by whistling Annis' Tune. However, after a while, the screaming and shouting began to drown out Riley's whistling. Riley began to hurry at a faster pace, hoping to get off the bridge as soon as possible.

As she neared the end of the bridge, she noticed Annis, roughly grabbing the arm of a little girl who looked to be about Caroline's age. A few other kids were helping to grab her, but the little girl was surprisingly hard to catch, and kept out of Annis' grip.

As Riley watched, an increasingly frustrated Annis began to strike at the girl, hitting her in the face and shoulders. Riley flinched, and realized she had to get there quickly before things got too out of hand.

"Hey, Annis, stop that!" She called out, approaching her, but Annis didn't hear. The little girl bit Annis' hand, causing her to recoil in pain. Annis then struck the girl to the ground.

"Hey, stop!" Riley shouted, panicking. She started to run towards the two. As she did, Annis backed up, and charged at the girl as she began to get up.

"Annis, no!" Riley shouted, racing towards her, but it was too late. Annis swung her foot right at the girl's face, connecting with her chin. There was a snapping sound, and the young girl collapsed and went limp.

Riley stopped in her tracks, her body tensing up. She began to tremble lightly as she stared at the girl's body. The other kids paused and started to turn in the direction of Annis, who was breathing heavily as she recovered.

"Oh, no..." Riley whispered. She'd played soccer with Annis before, and she knew Annis had a very hard kick.

Caroline, who's back was turned, sensed that something horrible had happened. "Riley, what's wrong?" She asked, beginning to turn around. However, Riley instinctively shielded Caroline's eyes, not wanting her to see what everyone else was looking at.

Riley held Caroline out to Harold, who himself had a shocked look on his face. "Get her home," Was all she said. Harold was quick to comply, and hurried back to the hotel with Caroline in his grasp.

Once the two were gone, Riley ran towards the young girl, who still hadn't moved. She knelt down and felt for a pulse. She felt nothing.

Riley frigidly looked up at Annis, tears glistening in her eyes. Annis was staring down at her, a look of discomfort on her face. After a few moments, she turned to the others and said, "Let's go."

Giving one last look at Riley, Annis departed, with the other kids following her. The only ones who remained were Madison, Harriet, and Jake.

Riley sat on the ground, her back turned to them. After a few moments, Madison walked over, and lay a hand on Riley's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," She told her.

* * *

An hour later, Madison, Harriet, Harold, Jake, and Brooke watched as Riley finished burying the girl in the forest near the local graveyard. When she was finished, Riley knelt down next to the burial spot. Her hands, blouse and jeans were covered in mud and a little blood.

"Hey, Riley, we're really-" Madison started, but was cut off by Riley.

"Sorry?" Riley asked, knowing what Madison was going to say already. She turned to stare at her friends,a look of grievance in her eyes.

"I should've saved her!" She said, walking past her friends and punching a tree. "It's my fault! My fault!"

This time, Harriet held onto Riley's shoulder. "You can't blame yourself," She said as she held Riley in place. "We probably wouldn't have tried to save her, but you did."

Riley turned to face her, tears streaming down her face. Riley didn't say anything else; she just left to return to the hotel.

Madison walked up next to Harriet. "Ugh, we are such terrible people!" She declared bitterly. "What are we even protecting now? We can't even make our closest friend feel better."

"I wish someone would just go and just straighten Annis out!" Jake declared.

"We can't do that," Brooke said, tugging on Jake's sleeve. "She's our leader now. If we talk back to her, she'll probably get us killed."

"Ugh, it's hopeless, guys," Madison said, falling onto her knees in despair.

* * *

Annis lay asleep in her bed, the room pitch-black.

She was stirred awake when she heard the door creek open, and a figure slowly enter. Annis reached for her night light and flicked it on, and she saw Riley's troubled face in the darkness.

"Riley, what are you doing here," Annis asked, tired and prepared to fall back asleep.

Riley stared down at her, looking as if she were unsure what to say. Her body was shaking slightly, and she bit her lip.

"I'm... leaving," Riley claimed after an extended hesitation. "And I'm taking Caroline with me."

* * *

 _Read and review._


	21. Manipulated

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Hopefully so._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Annis may not react the way you think to Riley._

 _Rsbaird: Thanks, I'll keep updating._

 _Js: That would be the most likely option._

 _The 379th Hero: What is it?_

 _Korrasami 88: Riley is still being controlled by her fear (figuratively and literally). She may be too scared to try and challenge Annis._

 _Boy Jav: So many people want a twelve year old dead._

 _I am a burglar: Seriously? You're still looking for money._

* * *

There was an uncomfortable silence as Riley stared down at Annis. The only noise either could hear was the howling of the wind.

Annis bright eyes stared up at Riley in confusion, glistening in the darkness. Her face shown brightly in the nightlight, while the rest of her body was obscured in darkness.

"L-Leaving?" Annis asked, looking like a little child about to be put on timeout. Her eyes slightly darted at Riley, then at the dresser, then back at Riley.

"I can't be here any longer," Riley confessed, her face a look of total confusion and despair. "This has been going disastrous. You killed that little girl today."

Annis lay up on her bed, now up to Riley's eye level. "It was an accident," She pointed out. "How was I supposed to know that kick would kill her?"

"You snapped her neck!" Riley said, her rising rising towards a yell. "What did you expect? She was Caroline's age!"

Annis bit her lip and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her eyes had a stone-y look in them.

"You said you'd help me," Annis reminded, getting out of the bed and standing up, an inch taller than Riley. Even though Annis was in her pink nightgown, Riley couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.

"You can't go back on your word," Annis said, straightening up.

In spite of her fears, Riley briefly removed her insecurities and straightened up herself, though she was still shorter than Annis. "It doesn't matter now," She said. "Caroline does."

The moment those words left Riley's mouth, Annis hand whipped out like a rubber band and struck Riley's cheek. The force of the blow was so sudden and so unexpected that Riley collapsed onto the dresser. Annis' lamp was knocked off the dresser as Riley's head smashed against it.

Using one hand to stay aloft on the dresser, Riley used to other to rub her reddening cheek. Her eyes looked up at Annis, who stared down at her sternly. She looked like she had proved a point to Riley.

Her arms and body trembling, Riley got up off the dresser. She stood up, trying to look defiant in response, and said, "I'm leaving now."

Annis' expression changed. One eyebrow rose in shock, and her mouth dropped an inch. Riley didn't plan to stick around to wait to see how Annis would react now, so she turned away from her gaze and started to walk towards the door.

"You can't leave me, Riley!" Annis shouted at her as she left. "Where will you go? To one of those other towns, where there is no order I have yet established? You want Caroline to live in a place where she has no guaranteed protection?!"

Riley tried her best to ignore Annis' words, but they continued to eat away her. She felt more uncomfortable as she neared the door. Every second, she expected Annis to lunge at her and attack her to force her to stay.

"...Riley."

It wasn't a shout. It wasn't a scream, or a threat. Yet, Riley heard it clearer than Annis' hoarse threats. As if unwillingly, Riley found herself turning to face Annis.

Annis didn't look normal. She seemed smaller now, confused and meek. Her large eyes filled with helplessness, Annis looked at Riley, wringing her hands.

"I'm... sorry," Annis said, tears beginning to stream from her eyes. "You don't know how this has affected me. When that girl died... I didn't know what to do. I felt lost."

Riley turned to face Annis fully. Everyone fiber in her brain was telling her she needed to leave, and fast, but some unseen force seemed to force her to stay where she was.

"Being the leader of this city was such a big job, that it affected me," Annis said, pulling at her hair. "I acted out, not knowing what to do. You're my best friend, you should understand that I would never hurt you."

Riley stared at Annis, conflicted. It was true; she was Annis' best friend. Weren't friends supposed to side with each other no matter what?

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Annis said miserably, going on her knees and sobbing openly, burying her face in her hands. "If you leave me, I'll be lost. Without you, I just don't know what to do."

Annis continued to sob to herself, covering her face. However, she opened her eyes when she felt the feeling of Riley wrapping her arms around her in a comforting hug.

Riley was secretly asking herself why she was doing this. She should be leaving now, with Caroline. But, despite this, she just couldn't find it in herself to abandon her best friend.

"I'm sorry," Riley apologized, crying herself. Annis brought her hands to Riley's cheek and caressed her face.

"Was this where I hit you?" Annis asked, her voice filled with concern, as she slid her hands over Riley's cheek. Before Riley could answer, Annis placed a soft kiss on Riley's cheek.

"Don't worry, you're like a little sister to me," Annis whispered as she buried Riley's head in her chest. "I would never hurt you. I love you."

Riley silently wondered if it was true.

* * *

Riley entered her room again. Caroline was fast asleep on their bed, oblivious to all that had transpired beforehand.

Riley lay on the bed and took out her laptop. Going on Skype, she contacted Meg.

"Oh, hey Riley," Meg said, sounding somewhat tired, as her face appeared on the screen. "What is it?"

"Meg, there are some big changes happening at the city," Riley confessed. "Dangerous things. I want you never to go to San Francisco. Stay where you are. You'll be safe."

"Riley, what's happening?" Meg asked, sounding increasingly concerned. "You've been worrying me these past few days."

"I can't explain," Riley said, her voice cracking. "Goodbye, Meg." With that, she shut off her laptop and placed it back on her bed.

Riley lay down on the bed, tears still glistening in her eyes. She faced the sleeping Caroline, and slowly placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort herself. Her eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	22. Harboring

_Before we get to the replies, I'd just like to say I'm happy with the reviews this story got. I was slightly worried the story was starting to downgrade from popularity, so it's good to see it's not the case. Now for the replies._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Riley will definitely figure that out soon enough._

 _The 379th Hero: Private Message sent._

 _Korrasami 88: Well, hey, at least this means Riley won't run away from the problem._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Riley belongs to what boy exactly? The only boy Riley is close friends with is Harold._

 _Guest: You mean Annis?_

 _BladeRunner43: Annis does value Riley more than anyone else, but it's not saying much._

 _I am a burglar: You really want to check out Annis' clothes, huh._

 _Js: At this point, Riley is in denial._

 _Light Seeker 001: You should know that Annis just put on a show. She can fake her emotions (which kind of makes me wonder what her emotions really are like)._

 _Hcdbn: Glad to see you're back. As for Annis, my villains usually have that affect on people._

 _Rsbaird: Congratulations, you're the 200th reviewer. And yes, curse that darned compassion._

* * *

Riley had a surprise for Caroline the next day, a surprise she was sure she'd enjoy.

First, she had to go out with Annis and pillage a building where several kids were hiding. Riley hadn't really partaken in the violence that ensued; all that was on her mind was Caroline.

Once that was all over, Riley rode her bike all the way back to the hotel, where she was sure Caroline was.

However, when Riley got to her room, she was surprised to find that Caroline wasn't there. Riley checked everywhere in the room for where Caroline might be hiding, but she couldn't find her.

After a few minutes, Riley began to fear the worse. Could it be that Caroline had run away? But hadn't she and Riley been bonding over the last few months?

Riley was snapped out of her thoughts when the door unexpectedly opened. Riley spun around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Caroline at the door, one arm behind her back.

"Oh, thank goodness Caroline," She said, breathing in relief.

Caroline skipped over to Riley, her arm still behind her back. Jumping on the bed so she was at Riley's eye level, she whispered, "Close your eyes."

Riley was mystified. "Why?" She asked.

"Just do it," Caroline replied. Riley rolled her eyes, but nevertheless closed them. She faintly felt Caroline pin something into her hair. Once Caroline was finished, Riley opened her eyes.

"Look at the mirror," Caroline instructed. Riley turned to look at the mirror, and was surprised when she saw a large, red, beautiful rose decorated into Riley's blonde hair.

Riley gasped in awe as she stared at herself in the mirror. She lightly tapped the rose with her index finger.

"I picked it out myself," Caroline said, a bright smile on her face. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, Caroline, it's beautiful," Riley said, a smile forming on her face. She then remembered what she was going to show Caroline, and raced to the closet.

"I have a present for you, too," Riley claimed, swinging open the closet doors. She reached inside, and pulled out the object she wanted to show Caroline.

Caroline gasped. "It's... Shew," She whispered in shock. "You fixed her?"

Riley shrugged as she held the resewn doll in her hand. "I wanted to make it up to you for what happened three months ago," Riley said. "I spent those three months repairing it."

 _Three months?_ Riley was still thinking in her head.

Caroline slowly took the doll out of Riley's hand. She studied the doll's face for a moment, then hugged it tight. Riley smiled in response, but was taken aback when Caroline unexpectedly grabbed Riley by the sleeve and pulled her into a hug as well.

"I love you," Caroline whispered as she embraced Riley. Riley stood surprised, wrapped in Caroline's hug, before hesitantly returning the hug.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Riley groaned, "Can't the two of us just have a moment together?"

Pulling out of Caroline's hug, Riley walked over to the door and pulled it open to see who had knocked on the door. At first, Riley saw nobody, until she looked down and saw Brooke at the door.

"Hi miss, me again," She said timidly. "Problem is, I ran away from Madison. I was looking for my baby brother, since I couldn't find him, and Annis' muscle-bound bodyguards were onto me, and they're chasing me. Harold and Jake surely won't help me, so you're the only one who I can hide with. Could you please let me in?"

Riley stared down at Brooke silently. Then, she bluntly said, "No," and closed the door on her, leaving Brooke standing in the hallway awkwardly.

"Riley, that was rude," Brooke heard Caroline say in the room. There was a sigh, the sound of footsteps approaching the door, followed by the door being reopened to reveal Caroline.

"Come in, miss," Caroline said. Brooke was quick to dive inside the room, and Caroline shut it.

Riley was staring out of her window, looking out at the streets below. She say several of Annis' enforcers scourging across the streets, guns in their hands. She shivered, and shut the window.

Brooke jumped up and sat on the bed. "So, Riley, where is my brother?" She asked, tapping her fingers together. "Madison told me that you were one of the people who knew."

Riley didn't turn to face Brooke. "I don't like this," She said. "I'm practically hiding an escapee."

"Isn't that against the law?" Brooke asked, before realizing that Riley was referring to her.

Caroline tugged in Riley's sleeve. "Riley, why don't you go out there and reason with them while we think of what to do?" She asked. "Just this once."

Riley sighed, and stared down at Caroline. Caroline looked up at her, giving her the puppy-dog eyes.

Riley groaned. "Alright, I'll do it," She sighed.

* * *

Riley felt like her life flashed before her eyes when she found herself staring into the eyes of one of Annis' burly, older boys. Their intimidating eyes bore into her sore. Riley knew they wouldn't hurt her, but that didn't make her any less fearful.

"So, boys, I take it you're looking for an escapee?" Riley asked, gulping. The boys nodded.

"Well, maybe I could help you look for them," Riley said, still fumbling with her words. Pointing down the streets, she said, "Maybe she went that way?"

The boys stared down at Riley, making her feel as if she'd just signed her own death warrant. One of them, a rather fat boy with meaty arms and a pimple on his chin, lumbered close to Riley, slicing the distance between them in half.

Riley felt her skin crawl when the boy slid his arm over her shoulder. Then, completely unexpectedly, the boy burst into hearty laughter. Riley stood there, not knowing what was happening.

One by one, the boys all started laughing cheerily as well. The boy closest to Riley proceeded to slap her on the back, as if they were pals. Riley was sure it was meant as a friendly gesture, but the boy clearly didn't know his own strength, as the slap sent the scrawny Riley face-planting on the wet pavement.

The boys still continued laughing. Riley looked up, confused. "What are you laughing about?" She asked, her skin paling.

"Girl, we ain't as dumb as you think," One of the boys said. "You think Annis didn't know that the escapee would be hiding with you?"

Riley's blood went cold at that statement. One of the boys continued, saying, "We were just waiting for you to leave. The other boys should be here in..."

As if on cue, the door of the hotel opened to reveal two large boys, dragging Brooke out by her arms. The girl was struggling in her grip, but it was no use; the boys were far to powerful.

Riley gulped. She wondered if she was going to be punished for hiding Brooke. However, one of the boys grabbed her by the head and easily lifted her into the air, setting her back on her feet.

"Annis wants everyone to see this," The boy whispered into Riley's ear. The smell of tacos and potato chips entered Riley's nose, causing her to nearly sneeze.

"You better get your little doll," The boy said, slapping Riley on the back again. The force of the slap sent Riley stumbling forward, but she didn't fall this time. Riley turned around to stare at the boys. They ushered her towards the hotel.

Riley groaned, and turned to head towards the hotel to get Caroline.

She just wished nobody would get hurt.

* * *

 _Read and review.  
_


	23. Punishment

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: And now we're getting to the stack of cards falling down._

 _Rsbaird: Oh, don't worry, Brooke won't get hurt. That doesn't mean everyone is going to be fine, though._

 _Korrasami 88: That's... actually good advice._

 _The 379th Hero: Didn't we all know it was coming?_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Brooke isn't going to Hell, though._

 _InsideLove: This chapter definitely won't have a happy end._

 _Cometacos: I always figured that Riley's biggest flaw was being scared, not being dumb._

 _I am a burglar: So, steal from every kid who has a position of power in this hotel?_

 _Hcdbn: 'Badass Riley' will make a comeback, but at the moment, it's being put to the side._

 _Js: It's funny how Brooke isn't the one getting hurt in the chapter._

* * *

Riley felt sick as she led Caroline out from the hotel as the crowd of children, numbering over a thousand, began to crowd about on the streets to see what Annis had in store.

"Riley, I don't like this," Caroline whispered as they exited the hotel. Riley paused, wanting to say words of comfort to her. However, she actually agreed with Caroline's concerned.

Riley knelt down to Caroline's eye level, holding her shoulders. "Look, Caroline, as long as you're with me, I won't let anyone hurt you," She reassured her. "I promise."

This made Caroline smile in gratitude. But her smile turned to a frown when she saw Annis walk through the crowd of children, a proud grin on her face. Riley quickly got to her feet, and turned to stare at Annis, holding Caroline's hand.

Brooke was standing guiltily in the circle of children, all eyes on her. She looked up as Annis, carrying something in her arms, as she approached her. Annis stopped to stare at Riley. No words were exchanged, but Riley understood perfectly. This time, she was not permitted to leave with Caroline. She would remain until everything was over.

Annis turned back to Brooke. "Hey, little girl," She said, a deceiving smile on her face. When Brooke didn't respond, Annis continued, saying, "My boys are telling me that you didn't like it here, is that right?"

"I was just looking for my brother," Brooke said.

"Oh, I know you were," Annis replied, a grin on her face. "That's why I made a little stop at some place to pick him up."

She revealed what was in her arms. Even from the far distance away, Riley could see it was an infant, probably about a year old. She knew immediately that it was Brooke's brother.

"Oh, that's him!" Brooke said, a gullible smile forming on her face. "Thanks for getting him, Annis."

Riley covered her face. She knew immediately that Annis wasn't here to simply give Brooke's brother to her. She remembered Annis' demonstration months ago, and was reminded of the situation at hand.

Annis unexpectedly pulled Brooke's brother out of her reach. "You want him don't you?" She asked. When Brooke excitedly nodded, Annis smiled and said, "Well you can't have him."

Brooke's smile vanished. "What?" She asked.

Annis began to walk towards the fence, where the dogs that Annis used to sniff out missing children were being kept. Currently, several of them were beginning to stand up and stare at Annis, or more specifically, the baby.

"You see, Brooke, if you're going to live under my roof, there are certain rules to be obeyed," Annis explained confidently. "I consider myself a fair and charitable person, after all."

Brooke raced after her, the crowd of children following close behind.

"I'll obey the rules, I promise," Brooke said, beginning to tug on Annis' sweater.

Annis stopped. "Probably is, you've already disobeyed my rules by trying it leave," She explained, sounding faux sympathetic. With that, she began to slowly lift the infant above the fence. The dogs began to bark excitedly.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked, fearing the worse.

Riley felt Caroline tugging on her sleeve, silently urging her to stop Annis. But Riley felt a sense of fear, keeping her from intervening. Harold, who was standing next to Riley, stared at her, then back at Annis. Jake was hiding behind him.

"I'll be good, I promise!" Brooke pleaded.

"I am a fair person, after all," Annis replied apathetically, about to toss the baby to the dogs. "You wanted to see your brother again, so what better irony than this being the last time you see-"

"Stop it!" A voice cried, causing Annis to freeze up. Riley gasped. Even Harold looked surprised. All eyes turned to who had spoke.

Riley felt like her soul had been ripped from her body when she saw that it was Caroline. The girl had strayed away from her while she wasn't looking, and she was now standing a few feet away from Annis, in clear view of her.

Annis stared down at Caroline, lowering the baby away from the dogs. Her face had a look of shock and bafflement. Caroline herself looked shocked that she had just spoken against Annis, but she steeled herself to narrow her eyes and frown.

"Don't kill him," Caroline demanded in a defiant tone. Annis blinked, still in awe. The other children were still staring at her in disbelief.

Annis narrowed her eyes, but handed the baby to one of her burly bodyguards. Her eyes were still on Caroline.

At this point, Riley felt the urge to intervene. "Caroline, come back here, right now!" She demanded, her voice filled with command. Caroline turned away from Annis, and she quickly began to walk towards Riley.

While her back was turned, however, Annis scooped up a snowball, compacted with ice, and threw it at Caroline. Before Riley could cry out to warn her, the snowball smashed into the back of Caroline's head, the force of the blow knocking her onto the ground. A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Caroline groaned, and struggled to get to her feet. The force of the ice still stung her head, causing her to struggle. Annis began to skip towards Caroline, a triumphant, and somewhat sadistic, grin on her face. As Caroline got on her knees, Annis proceeded to kick her in the back, sending her crashing onto the ground once more.

Riley winced, remembering when Annis had kicked that other girl only the day before. Annis was obviously holding back, however.

Annis wasn't done yet. As Caroline began to get get up once more, Annis delivered another kick into Caroline's stomach. The force of the blow flipped the tiny Caroline onto her back. She clutched her aching stomach.

Annis kicked Caroline in the side when she tried to get up, sending her tumbling a few feet away. Riley stood in the midst of the crowd, watching, feeling like she was betraying Caroline by not intervening to rescue her.

The crowd of kids all began to gasp and wince as Annis beat down on Caroline. Harold shut his eyes and looked to the side, fighting the urge to stand up against this display of violence. Jake stood behind Harold, wanting to turn away from it, but feeling compelled to watch. Brooke was crying as she watched Caroline be beaten by Annis.

Annis stopped for a bit, allowing Caroline to start to get to her feet. Her face and arms were covered with purple bruises, and her legs were wobbling. It clearing pained her just to stand. Her head rolled from the sides, barely focused.

Annis was shaking in excitement, giggling joyfully. She raised her foot towards Caroline, when Riley found the courage to stutter out, "A-Annis, enough."

It was a whisper, but Annis heard her. She turned to face Riley, her stare striking fear into Riley's heart. She silently dared Riley to continue to defy her. Riley shrunk down into herself, not moving from her spot.

Annis grinned, then proceeded to roughly kick Caroline in the chest. This final blow knocked Caroline onto the pavement. This time, Caroline didn't get up. She simply lay on the ground, from a mixture of pain and not wishing to endure any more brutality. Her mouth, as well as the pavement around her head, was covered in blood.

Annis stood over Caroline, a grin on her face. She looked up at the other children, looking around and taking the time to stare each of them in the eye. Her grin grew wider when they all looked away, intimidated. She looked back down at the battered Caroline.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you!" She proclaimed, pointing at Caroline's bruised and bloody face. She then looked up towards Riley, who had a guilty look on her face. She smiled.

Caroline lay on the ground, her sight fuzzy and blurred. She felt blood trickling down her mouth and nose, and her head throbbed. She had never felt more excruciating misery in her short life.

It took all of her strength to turn her head in Riley's direction. When Riley saw Caroline looking at her, she looked away, not being able to bare looking at her. Riley couldn't get rid of the feeling that she had betrayed Caroline.

Caroline let a few tears slip out of her eyes; not from the psychical pains; but the emotional ones. Riley had just stood there and done nothing to help her.

One of Annis' burly bodyguards turned to some random kids and said, "Get her cleaned up." The kids obeyed and quickly started to carry Caroline back to the hotel.

Annis gave the signal for the kids to return to their respective homes. She then turned to Riley, and stomped towards her. Riley didn't dare move as Annis approached.

When they were within arms length, Annis reached out and violently ripped the rose out of Riley's hair. She threw it on the ground, and stomped it onto the pavement. Riley shut her eyes so she didn't have to watch.

When Annis was finished, she gave one last look at Riley, then left for the hotel.

Riley simply stood out in the streets, pondering what had just happened, and what would happen now.

* * *

A group of girls had Caroline seated at the pool area. They washed her bruises with soaked towels, and dabbed at her bloody face. Caroline winced, still feeling the pain from Annis' beating.

Unexpectedly, the door opened. The girls stopped cleaning Caroline, and turned to see who was at the door.

Standing at the door was Harold and Jake. Behind them was two of Annis' burly bodyguards. They spoke no words; they simply approached Caroline and the girls.

The kids at the pool area didn't intend to stay. Whatever the boys wanted, they wouldn't be part of it. They began to race off towards the door. The kids in the pool soon followed, until only Caroline and the four boys remained.

The four boys surrounded Caroline, blocking all possible escapes. She looked around, fearful. She wondered if they had been sent by Annis.

Harold took one step towards Caroline, his face hard.

"You're coming with us," Was all he said.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	24. Gone

_The 379th Hero: That would be nice, but how do you get a grizzly into a hotel, much less on the top floor?_

 _Antha1: Finally, someone asks the question. I could give a long answer, but the short-story is, how many evil people in the world have followers? The answer: a LOT. As for Riley, I was trying not to make her seem TOO unlikable for not helping Caroline._

 _Boy Jav: You know, there's so many people who want to kill off Annis, but I don't think a simple assassinate would work as well as you'd think. It Annis just dies like that, who's to say one of her friends won't decide to take power for him/herself._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Eh, moving on..._

 _Korrasami 88: I didn't enjoy writing Caroline getting beat up... oh, who am I kidding, I did. Not because it gave me joy having a little girl getting kicked out, but because I wanted to see what the reviews would say._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Let's face it; she was a psychopath long before._

 _TheOneAndOnly1993: The kids haven't all lost their humanity; Annis did._

 _Rsbaird: I wanted to see what would happen if you took away law and order. If that happens, some people will show who they really are..._

 _Js: Riley was still terrified of Annis at that point._

* * *

As Riley used the elevator to get to her floor, she kept wondering what she would say to Caroline.

"Caroline, you shouldn't have done that," Riley practiced as she reached her floor. However, she froze when she realized how awful that sounded. Blaming Caroline when all she did was defend an innocent child? She knew she couldn't do that.

"That was rather brave," Riley whispered to herself, guiltily, as she approached her door. Caroline had been the only one to stand up to Annis, and she was only four. Riley had done nothing; she had been a coward, and Caroline had paid for that.

Riley gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it, still lost in her mind. Suddenly, she swung the door open as what she would say popped into her mind.

"Caroline, I'm sorry!" Riley shouted as she ran into the room, but stopped in her tracks. A feeling of dread began to build up in the pit of Riley's stomach as her worst fears began to climb to the surface.

The room was empty. Caroline was nowhere to be found.

On the bed, Riley found the doll Shew, laying where Caroline had left it. Slowly, Riley took hold of Shew, and looked around. The room looked exactly as it was the last time she'd left. Caroline hadn't been in the room.

Riley began to despair. What if Caroline had run away because she had felt betrayed?

Riley, still holding onto Shew, quickly exited the room and began to run down the hallway, calling out, "Caroline? Where are you Caroline?"

She didn't bother taking the elevator. She used the stairs, running down the stairs to get to the bottom floor. When she was at the bottom floor, she shoved the door open and began to run towards the pool area. She'd remembered the kids who had taken Caroline inside before; maybe they knew what happened to her.

Riley opened the door to the hotel room and saw the girls sitting near the pool. It didn't go unnoticed that the girls all had a guilty expression on their faces.

Riley ran up to them lightly grabbed one of them, hoisting her onto her feet. "Listen to me," She whispered. "Where is Caroline? Where's my sister?"

The girl didn't say a word, and looked to the floor in shame. Riley heard giggling coming from the door, and turned around to see the same group of girls that she'd fought with before.

Riley felt something snap in her head. It occurred to her that they must have had something to do with Caroline's disappearance. Letting go of the girl, Riley turned around and instead charged at the girls.

"What did you do to my sister?!" Riley shouted angrily, violently grabbing one girl and shoving her several feet away. The girls began to back away upon seeing how angry Riley was.

"Hey, we didn't touch your sister, kid," The tallest girl said. Riley wasn't listening, however; after everything that had happened, Riley had gotten angry, and she'd directed it at the kids she felt deserved it.

Grabbing the girl, Riley asked, "Where's my sister, you _#$ &%*_?!" She shouted, unexpectedly letting out 'that curse word'. She wasn't fond of using that word, but at that point, she didn't care.

When the girl didn't respond, Riley shoved her out the door of the hotel. She was about to tackle her, but the other girls grabbed onto her, restraining her and keeping her from attacking. Despite this, Riley struggled in their grip, wrestling with them to try and free themselves.

However, she stopped struggling when, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Annis, talking with Harold, Jake, and the two boys. Riley saw a guilty look on Harold's face.

The girls, upon seeing that Riley wasn't angry now, released her. Riley then began to walk, slowly, towards the five children, feeling as if they knew what was going on.

"Um, Annis, what's happening?" She asked. Annis turned to stare at her, and grinned.

"Ask Harold," She said, shoving Harold towards Riley. Harold had an unfamiliar look on his face; he looked rather sad, and his head was lowered, making him look a full head shorter than Riley.

Riley knew that, with Harold's guilt-ridden look, that something bad had happened. "What happened, Harold?" She asked, in a small but demanding tone.

Harold shifted his eyes, then looked up. "Riley, I..." He started, but couldn't get the words out. At that point, one of Annis' bodyguards lumbered up, and threw down a piece of clothing at Riley's feet.

Riley looked down, and recognized it instantly. It was Caroline's dress.

Riley looked up. "What did you do?" She asked, her voice steely. Harold didn't respond.

Annis' bodyguard sighed. "We noticed that you were getting too attached to the girl," He explained to her. "So, we..." Now, even he trailed off.

Riley looked around, and realization dawned upon her.

"Did you... _kill_ her?" She asked, her stare boring into Harold's eyes. Once again, he didn't respond. All he did was stare at Riley.

Riley's eyes widened, and she backed away slowly, in denial. "No..." She whispered. "You... you didn't..."

"It was for your own good," Annis' bodyguard said. Riley trembled, her arm shaking as she held Shew in her hand. A tear slipped out of her eye.

Annis smiled in satisfaction. "Get her out of here," She ordered her bodyguards. The boys obeyed, grabbing Riley, one of them holding each arm, and dragging her down the streets and towards the hotel. Riley didn't fight back; she didn't feel she had the strength to.

Annis smiled, and turned to Harold and Jake. The two boys glared at her, a look of disgust and self-deprecation clear in their eyes.

Annis lay her hands on their shoulders. "You boys did the right thing," She said, ruffling Jake's hair. "I'm proud of you." With that, she turned, and skipped off towards the hotel.

Harold shut his eyes, and lowered his head. Jake did the same.

* * *

The boys swung open the door to Riley's room and dragged her inside. One boy lifted her up, and roughly tossed her onto the bed. Riley bounced upon it as she landed face-first, still clutching Shew close to her chest.

Riley stared down at the bed, not moving, as she continued to clutch Shew. The sound of the door closing signaled that the boys had left.

Once they were gone, Riley sat up, and stared at Shew. Three months ago, she hadn't known why Caroline had cared so much for the seemingly worthless doll. But now, with it being her last memory of the girl, she suddenly felt she understood. Maybe Shew had been Caroline's last memory of somebody she knew.

Riley started crying. Caroline; her sister, her friend, her whole world, was gone.

Because of her "friends".

She hated them. She hated Annis for disregarding Caroline like that. She hated Harold for taking Caroline away from her...

She hated herself. She hadn't been there for Caroline when Annis had beaten her. Now, she hadn't been there when Harold had taken her away. She had failed to protect Caroline.

This was her fault.

Riley began to sob quietly. Her mother, her father, her sister, they were all gone. She had failed to save them all. She was broken out of her thoughts when the door creaked open. She didn't even turn to see who it was.

"Riley."

Riley recognized Annis' voice, and slowly turned around to see her casually walk inside. Annis had the opposite expression Riley had; she looked happy, and joyful, and satisfied.

"Well, this is a stunning turn of events, Riley," Annis said, walking past the bed, her fingers sliding on the dresser. She stopped at the portrait of Riley with her parents.

"You looked beautiful, Riley," She said, admiring the portrait, make years ago, when Riley lived in Minnesota. Slowly, Annis took hold of the portrait, then casually dropped it onto the floor.

"Isn't it funny?" Annis asked, smirking. "You couldn't save your mom from death, you couldn't save your dad form death, you couldn't save Caroline from death..."

As she spoke, she'd take a portrait and drop it onto the floor. Riley flinched as she heard the portraits smash as they hit the ground.

Annis picked up Riley's hockey stick, holding it in the air. "Wasn't this a present from your mom?" She asked, remembering when Riley first told her that. Riley didn't respond; she just looked down.

Suddenly, Riley felt the edge of the hockey stick push up on her chin. Annis raised Riley's head so that she was facing her.

"You play hockey a lot, Riley," Annis said, grinning. Lightly tapping Riley on the head with the stick, she then said, "I play hockey to."

Annis pulled the stick away from Riley, and asked, "Want to see a new trick I've learned?"

* * *

 _Read and review._


	25. Broken

_OHMYGOSH! Nineteen reviews! None of my stories have ever gotten that many reviews for a single chapter. In fact, no responses this chapter, actually. Let's just get to the story._

* * *

Riley didn't even try to fight back. She just braced herself for what punishment Annis had in store for her.

Ten minutes later, Riley found herself lying face-first on the ground. Her head was riddled with cuts and bruises, and her shirt was bloodied. Lying next to her, the hockey stick had been snapped in two.

Annis was busy cleaning off her shirt, then casually headed for the door. However, she paused to say, "Wasn't that fun, Riley? Oh, and just to give you a head's up, we're going up to this school. My boys told me that a couple hundred kids are hiding there."

Riley didn't respond. She was conscious, though just barely, but she was too tired to speak.

"Oh, don't be sad, Riley," Annis said, smiling. "Be happy you have such an attentive best friend. I spent ten minutes of my time with you, after all."

Annis then laughed, before closing the door. The moment she was gone, Riley struggled to get off the ground. She covered her mouth when she saw that blood and spit was drizzling from it. Grabbing onto the side of the bed, she used it as leverage to push herself up. After an egregious minute, Riley managed to flop down on the bed.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and for a second, Riley thought that Annis had returned. She was relieved, however, to see that it was actually Brooke.

The small girl climbed onto the bed with Riley, and gasped when she saw her. "What happened?" She asked, horrified.

Riley turned her head to face Brooke, her left eye squinted due to having a large, purple bruise on it. "Annis..." She whispered, then turned to look up at the ceiling.

"She was testing you," Brooke revealed.

Riley squinted her eyes in confusion. "What?" She asked.

"I think Annis was growing suspicious of you and Caroline," Brooke explained. "When she threatened my brother, I think it was a ruse to provoke Caroline. She wanted to see how you'd react if she hurt Caroline. She wanted to see who was more important to you."

Riley groaned. "I guess I didn't disappoint her, then," She said sadly. "Now Caroline is dead, and it's my fault."

Riley closed her eyes, but faintly heard the sounds of Annis shouting orders outside. Slowly, she got up out of the bed and limped to the window. Outside, she saw over a thousand children, marching onwards with Annis leading them. Dozens of dogs were being held on a leash as they were led out with the children.

"Oh, no," Riley groaned, then turned to the door. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind, and her eyes widened. Slowly, she limped to the door and opened it.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked.

"I have to stop her," Riley replied, limping out onto the hallway. "Least... I can do..."

"But you're hurt, Riley!" Brooke protested. "You can't-"

"Don't stop me!" Riley snapped, managing to pick up her pace as she hurried for the stairs. "I have to do this!"

With that, she hurried down the stairs, hoping to catch up to Annis in time.

* * *

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)**_

"This is a terrible idea!" Fear squeaked as the other emotions finished screwing the lightbulb into the control panel. "Annis will kill us if we disagree with her!"

"Come on, Annis is our friend, surely she won't be that drastic," Joy replied confidently. "We just have to be smooth with her."

"Besides, I really want to give that girl a piece of my mind," Anger declared, punching a fist into his palm. "And if pushes comes to shove, we can always just deck her one in the face!"

"But we're not in any position to confront her," Fear reminded. "Look what she did to us just now. At this point, we're not even strong enough to fight her! We're toast!"

"We have to do it for Caroline," Sadness said, driving the controls, along with Joy. "She was brave. We have to be brave, too."

Fear shrunk down upon being told basically the opposite of his job.

"We can't go out looking like this!" Disgust butted in this time. "The other kids will look at us and only see how weak we are. They definitely aren't going to help!"

"Who cares what those guys think!" Anger asked, slamming his fist on the control panel. "They didn't help Caroline, they definitely won't help us now! We're in on this alone!"

"How are we going to get there in time, anyways?" Sadness asked and paused, causing Riley to slow down. "At the rate we're going, we'll never reach the school in time."

Anger's eyes lit up. "Hey, I have an idea..."

 _ **(Minutes Later...)**_

"Oh, we are so dead!" Fear shouted as Riley drove a stolen motorcycle down the streets and towards the school.

"Annis, here we come!" Joy shouted as she got into a motorcycle-riding position.

* * *

Annis and her army and since reached the school, and they crowded in front of it, guns drawn. Annis held out a megaphone, and walked out from her army towards the school. Even from the distance, she could see the kids at the windows within the school.

"Children of the school, come out and join your new law and order!" She demanded through the megaphone. "You have ONE warning, but know that I am a merciful and trustworthy gal!"

The second the words left her mouth, Annis was pelted in the chest with a snowball. The kids in the school began to rain snowballs and any other weapons they could find at Annis and her army.

Annis grimaced, then turned to her army.

"Let 'em have it!" She bellowed furiously. Her enforcers obeyed, and began to wildly fire their weapons at the school. Most of the bullets struck the walls, while others smashed through the glass windows. The kids inside the school instantly withdrew and began to hide as the bullets rained at them.

Annis began grinning widely, shaking with excitedly. She raised her hand, signaling for her army to cease firing. Then, she signaled for one of her bodyguards to bring out a rocket launcher. He and another bodyguard held the rocket launcher, and took aim at the school's entrance.

"Stop!"

Annis paused, and spun around to see Riley stop the motorcycle at the far end of the line of enfocrcers. Getting off the motorcycle, she started limping towards Annis quickly. The bodyguards lowered the rocket launcher and stared at Riley as she passed by them.

"What are you doing here, Riley?" Annis asked, then shrugged off her confused feeling. She grabbed the rocket launcher from her bodyguards, and held it to Riley.

"Never mind, I'm glad you're here," She said, practically shoving the rocket launcher into Riley's chest. "I want you to blow out that entrance!"

"No, that's not why I'm here," Riley said. "I came here to stop you!"

Annis froze, staring at Riley in shock. She turned to her army, who were watching in anticipation. Then, she turned back to Riley, and glared.

"Can we talk, alone?" She asked, before grabbing Riley by the arm and dragging her onto a small wooden bridge over a frozen lake close to the school. The army stared at the two, and Harold and Jake took a few steps towards the two girls.

"What do you think you're doing?" Annis asked irritately. "Are you trying to embarrass me in front of everyone?"

"Embarrass?" Riley asked in disbelief. "That's what your concerned about? There are much more important things to talk about now."

"Is this about Caroline?" Annis asked, sizing Riley up. "It better not be!"

"It's not just about her, it's about everybody!" Riley pointed out, standing up tall despite her injuries. "Don't you see the danger you're putting everyone else in!"

"I'm what this city needs!" Annis snapped, jabbing a finger into Riley's shoulder. "Without me to establish law, then all of the kids will go about with no rules, and without rules, everything goes to chaos! I'm here to make the rules, so that everybody obeys them! When we all grow up, they'll grow up under my rule, following my way! Understand!"

"And what about the people who don't follow you?" Riley asked. "What happens to them?"

"Why do you care?" Annis asked, shrugging.

"It's called empathy, Annis!" Riley shouted. "You should learn about it someday!"

For once, Annis didn't respond, giving Riley time to continue.

"Caroline was my sister, and I loved her," She revealed.

"She wasn't really your sister," Annis pointed out. "I assigned her to you."

"She was my sister whether she'd been of my own blood or not!" Riley shouted hoarsely. "But you took her away. You and..." She stopped, and turned to stare at Harold. The red-haired boy instinctively shrunk away into the crowd.

"It doesn't matter," Annis scoffed. "These kids follow my lead, not yours."

"Yes, it does matter!" Riley retorted. "Ever since I met you, I've done what you've wanted. When our parents died, I turned to you, because you were the person closest to me. But now, I need to think for myself."

"If you didn't like following me, why didn't you say anything?" Annis asked.

"Because!" Riley shouted, tears started to form in her eyes. "Because I thought that if I left, you'd take your anger out on our friends! Because I thought that I could help you cope with things. But most of all, I stayed because I trusted you. Every time you hurt me, I stayed because I trusted that you would change, Annis! That's why!"

Annis' skin paled, and her eyes widened. For a moment, it looked like Riley had gotten through to her. However, then her eyes narrowed.

"Do it, Riley!" Annis shouted, holding out the rocket launcher to her.

Riley batted it away. "No!" She refused sternly.

"Then I'll do it!" Annis said, and turned to aim the rocket launcher at the school.

"No!" Riley shouted in a panic, and grabbed the rocket launcher, wrenching it out of Annis' hands. She threw it off the bridge and watched it crash into the frozen lake below.

Riley slowly looked up at Annis, who was staring at Riley in shock. Then, she grimaced.

"If you won't follow what I say, then you don't deserve to have any part in my law!" She declared. Before Riley could do anything, Annis grabbed her and hoisted her into the air. Riley tried to struggle, but she was still weak from her previous injuries, and couldn't properly defend herself.

Without a moment's hesitation, Annis tossed Riley off the bridge and into the lake below. Riley screamed as she fell through the air, but her cries out terror were abruptly ended when she landed onto the frozen lake below. The ice smashed as Riley crashed into it. The back of Riley's head struck the ice, knocking out her senses.

"Riley!" She heard Madison shout. Even through her fuzzy vision, she saw Madison run onto the bridge and stare down at her, horrified. Annis roughly shoved her away.

A few of Annis' bodyguards were about to run down to retrieve Riley, but Annis shouted, "Leave her! Maybe when she wakes up, she'll learn to appreciate me!"

Reluctantly, the bodyguards relented and backed off. Riley lay on the smashed ice, feeling cold water soak her body. Her eyes dimly stared at Annis, and she could make out her ordering her bodyguards to retrieve the rocket launcher. Soon enough, they had handed her the rocket.

Riley let a few cold tears stream out of the corners of her eyes. She shut her eyes as she slipped into unconsciousness.

The last thing she heard was the sound of the rocket being fired.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	26. Escape

_...OHMYGOSH, did this get reviews! I won't reply to specific ones, but I was shocked at how many people thought Riley was actually dead! Come on, I'm not ending the story on a downer like that._

 _I better continue this before anyone loses their minds!_

 _PS: A lot of you think Annis ordered Caroline's death. She didn't; that was Harold, and you'll find out why in this chapter._

* * *

Riley was awoken by the sound of someone shaking her by the arm. Her eyes opened, and shifted around. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, but that perception was broken when she saw that she was still lying on the frozen lake.

Riley turned to see who was shaking her. Then, she heard her speak.

"Riley?"

That was what made Riley's thoughts leap. She recognized that voice, but how could it be...

Riley turned to see who was shaking her, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw who it was.

"C-Caroline?" She whispered, her voice breaking. It couldn't be her. She was dead... wasn't she. Maybe Riley was dead herself?

"It's me, Riley," Caroline whispered. Riley saw that she looked different. She was wearing plain white clothing, and her hair was down, rather than in pigtails. Her face was splashed with ice and water.

"How are you..." Riley asked as Caroline started pushing her to her feet.

"It was that boy," Caroline explained. "He had red hair and glasses. He and those other boys snuck me out of the hotel. They told me to switch clothes behind a dumpster, and then they told me I had to leave. Get out of the city. But, I couldn't leave, so I just hid away."

Riley thought of Harold, and she realized what he had truly done. He never even tried to kill her. She was still upset at him, but now she understood what he had done.

The two heard screaming, and Riley turned to see the entrance to the school blown open, and children scattering inside the building.

"We have to get out of here," Riley said, and picked Caroline up and held her close. She started to limp out of the frozen lake and onto the grass. She hurried away from the school; she wanted to stay and help, but she knew she'd do no good staying. They had to find a place to hide.

As she hurried onto the streets, she whispered, "Oh, Caroline, I can't believe you're alive. I thought you were dead!"

"Be silent," Caroline whispered into her ear. "Who knows what's out here."

"Yes," Riley told herself as much as Caroline. 'We have to be silent. Not get caught..."

Suddenly, the two heard a confused yelp. They froze, and slowly turned around. At the top of a hill, on the streets, was the same Boston terrier dog that Annis had chosen less than three months ago.

Riley and Caroline froze and stared up at the dog. The dog stared down at them. His head was craned to the side, his eyes staring straight at them. He looked like he was holding his breath.

"%#&*," Riley whispered.

"What does that mean?" Caroline asked innocently.

Instantly, the dog tore down the streets, barking wildly, his eyes rolling around in his head.

"Run, run!" Riley shouted, running in the opposite direction, holding Caroline tight. They ran, the Boston terrier hot on their heels. Riley wasn't scared of the dog herself; she was just scared that it would attract the attention of more on Annis' enforcers.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw that, indeed, more of Annis' tracking dogs appeared on the streets, barreling towards her, their loud barking carrying out into the night. Caroline screamed in terror and buried her face in Riley's neck.

Riley, seeking another route, turned to the left and ran into an alley, the tracking dogs continuing to chase them. Riley was amazed that she was outrunning a pack of dogs; she never knew she had the speed for that.

Then, she stopped. Outside the alley, was a crowd of enforcers, appearing to be about a hundred. Their guns were drawn, and they were all staring at her and Caroline.

Riley froze, staring at the crowd. Behind her, the dogs blocked the other exit to the streets.

One girl she didn't quite recognized stood out from the crowd, and demanded, "Drop the girl, and come with us."

Riley was scared, but she found the courage to retort. "You don't have to do this," She told her. "You guys don't have to follow Annis."

Some of the kids looked like they were listening, but the girl then said, "We have no choice. Annis hid all of our younger siblings, so we have to follow her or she'll punish them in our place."

Riley took a step back, and one of the dogs behind her barked at her.

"Turn to the left," Caroline whispered in Riley's ear. "Do it quickly."

"Come with us," The girl demanded.

"Go, now!" Caroline shouted. Without warning, Riley dodged to the left, running into the alley. The dogs immediately gave chase.

As Riley ran into the alley, Caroline leaned over and shoved a garbage can over. It crashed onto the ground, causing their pursuers to stumble and fall, tripping on the garbage.

Riley and Caroline stopped at a fence. Riley turned around, and saw the kids following them. Riley nodded to Caroline, and then threw her over the bridge. Then, she herself climbed over. One dog ran and pounced at the fence, but the force of the blow knocked Riley over onto the other side.

Caroline ran to a building at the far right. Riley ran after her, grabbing her just as Caroline managed to open the door. Then, she and Riley slipped inside the building.

Riley and Caroline breathed heavily, lying against the door. They could faintly hear the dogs and children outside, but from the sound, they were going in the opposite direction. They didn't know where they had gone.

"Nice thinking, Caroline," Riley thanked, smiling. Looking around, she asked, "What is this place."

Caroline looked up to Riley.

"I live here," She confessed.

* * *

 _Read and review. I hope this chapter lifts people's spirits after the last one broke everyone's hearts._


	27. Plans

_Korrasami 88: Sounds like a presidential campaign._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: I honestly can't believe so many people thought she was dead._

 _The 379th Hero: It's harder to rebel when you're scared._

 _InsideLove: Yeah, I wouldn't kill of Caroline like that. Of course she lives._

 _JasonRyder: One word: plot._

 _Rsbaird: Yeah, I'm glad myself I didn't kill Caroline off. I was starting to think I'd lose reviewers._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: Well, I'm responding now. Seriously, how many people thought Caroline was dead?_

 _SapStar: Aw, thanks._

 _Antha1: The fall off the bridge wasn't a very high one. It would definitely hurt, but you could still run afterwards. And no, the kids aren't immortal. Remember that girl Annis killed before?_

 _Guest: Cool predictions._

* * *

Annis' enforcers swarmed through the school, rooting out any hiding children they could find. Throughout the school, it was chaos as gunfire erupted throughout the building.

Kids toppled down staircases. Others were locked in lockers or in the washroom. Nobody, not even the enforcers, were totally safe as kids scrambled to either escape or gather those who were hiding.

Harold and Jake hid under a school desk. "I never thought I'd find myself back here," Harold admitted, looking around. "This is the school I used to go to when the adults were still here."

A desk was unexpectedly sent flying, toppling over a row of other desks, causing Jake to jump a bit from under the desk.

"Come on," Harold whispered, grabbing Jake as the two of them ran out from under the desk and started sprinting down the hallways, trying to avoid the anarchy as hundreds of kids swarmed through the building.

Outside, Annis and her bodyguards left the building, flanked by over a dozen of her enforcers, who had apprehended several of the hiders. Annis, noticing the bridge, ran over to it to see that Riley was still lying on the lake.

Her bodyguards all flinched when they heard Annis shriek. Harold and Jake came running, though mostly just to avoid the violence in the school.

"What's wrong?" One bodyguard asked.

Annis turned towards them. "She's gone!" She shouted angrily, her stare causing the bodyguards backed away. "Riley left! How dare she?!"

Harold and Jake both gulped when they saw how furious Annis looked. Neither of them had ever seen her this angry, even Harold, who had known Annis for years.

The crowd of kids who had chased Riley and Caroline before then returned. Annis turned to them and asked, "Where did Riley go?"

"She ran off," One boy in the crowd explained. "We couldn't find her."

Then, one girl added, "That girl with red-hair was with her, too."

Annis froze, her eyes and mouth widened. She turned to Harold and Jake, and the two bodyguards who assisted them. Her eyes held a look of betrayal and anguish.

"You... you didn't kill her?" She whispered, her voice trembling.

"Annis, we..." Harold started, but Annis cut him off by throwing a snowball into his face.

"You told me she was dead!" She reminded angrily. "You lied to me!"

For the first time, Jake actually saw Harold look terrified.

Annis stomped towards him, grabbing him by the collar. "You traitor!" She growled at him. "You are going to go out there, and you are going to find Riley! And Caroline! And you are going to KILL her!"

"But, but Annis," Harold stuttered, and Annis shook him hard.

"I had better see that girl's corpse when you bring her to me," Annis whispered into his ear threateningly. "And you're bring Riley to me, alive. I'll show her how to follow my rules!"

With that, Annis roughly tossed Harold to the ground. At that point, Jake unexpectedly said, "Hey, leave him alone!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Annis grabbed Jake by the neck and said, "You're going to join him. You two had better find Riley and Caroline soon, do you hear me?!"

Harold got up, trembling, and he and Jake then ran off over the bridge and towards the city, leaving Annis breathing heavily.

* * *

 _ **(In Annis' Mind)**_

All five of Annis' emotions were at the control panel, each of them watching through the screen as Harold and Jake left. Anger, a rather short woman with red hair that matched her body color, was at the the center. Her head was flaming.

"Those ungrateful morons and their dumb ideas!" She shouted, slamming her fist on the control panel repeatedly, causing Annis to fume. "Everything was going just fine, and then they just go and-"

She paused, then pushed a big red button, causing a loud beeping sound.

"-Everything up! That doll-obsessed freak was finally out of our hair, and I was as happy as I could be, which isn't saying much. Then, it turns out that four-eyed IMBECILE let her live?! Why?!"

Disgust, a girl who was even shorter than Anger, and wearing a purple dress, nodded. "And Riley ran off with Caroline," She said vehemently. "She chose that girl over us!"

"Maybe she doesn't care about us anymore," Sadness, a rather dimly colored blue boy with very short hair, said sadly. "She thinks Caroline is more important than us, doesn't she?"

Fear, a purple woman with long strands of hair, squeaked in terror. "And Harold let her live!" She whispered. "That means he also favors her over us. What if the other kids are going to start favoring Riley over us!"

Immediately, Joy, a girl with flaming red hair and a black and red skirt, jumped onto the control panel. "Now, come on, guys, that will never happen!" She reassured, then darkly added, "Because everyone else is too scared of us. If they don't like how we do things, we can always just take the Anger route and toss 'em off a bridge. It makes me happy."

The other emotions nodded and smiled.

"I did enjoy doing that," Anger said, reminiscing to only an hour ago when she had taken control and had Annis throw Riley off the bridge.

Then, Joy frowned. "This city, this country, we have to protect it," She said. "And the only way we can do that is if we step forward with out little idea."

The other emotions nodded, grinning. "You don't have to thank me for my idea," Joy said proudly. "It is just one of my many great ideas!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Disgust asked. "Let's get these lazy kids off their butts and let's do this!"

Joy hopped off the control panel, grabbed the controls, and said, "Let's get this thing on!"

* * *

Annis snapped to attention, and turned to her bodyguards. "Boys, send out the word," She ordered to them. "From this day, we will not rest until this whole city is under my control!"

The boys nodded. Annis continued with, "All day, all night, no matter how long, we are going to go out and finally secure this city!"

The boys nodded, and turned to go off and spread the word.

Annis smiled, then whispered, "Then, we can move on to even bigger plans."

* * *

 _Yeah, I decided to have the emotions play a part. It's still mostly the story of the kids, but you'll get a few sneak peaks into their mind. Anyways, read and review._


	28. Home

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: How big is the Arkham Knight's army. Because Annis' army numbers to practically the whole city._

 _The Crossover Guardian: You have no idea._

 _Korrasami 88: That is a good idea._

 _Js: It definitely won't be the last one. And I'm surprised Annis came off as more disturbing. I thought the inclusions of her emotions would seem comical._

 _InsideLove: Wow, I'm getting showered with all of these ideas..._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: I intentionally made Annis' Joy seem more evil than the other emotions. Joy doesn't mean good, after all._

 _JasonRyder: I pictured it as very dark and gloomy when I wrote about it._

 _The 379th Hero: I think you did._

 _I am a burglar: For what?_

 _Thyuis: Run where?_

* * *

"You lived in this apartment?" Riley asked as Caroline led her up the stairs. The place smelled somewhat dirty, and Riley could see a few cobwebs, but at the moment, she tried not to let it bother her. It was better than being with Annis.

"My entire life," Caroline said. She quickly scurried to one door down the hallway and pushed it open. "This is where me and my family used to live."

Riley followed Caroline into the room. It definitely looked like nobody had been living there for months. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere, but Caroline didn't seem to notice. She seemed rather happy to be in her old home for the first time in months.

She crawled up the stairs to her room, with Riley following after her. Riley was somewhat reminded of when she'd first moved into her new home a year ago.

The two arrived in Caroline's former room. Riley immediately noticed that the room had a bunk bed.

Caroline grabbed a small family portrait off the dresser, and showed it to Riley. "This is my mother, and my father, and my sister," She said, pointing to each of them. She held it out for Riley to take.

Riley held the portrait, and as she stared at Caroline's sister in the portrait, she couldn't held but feel as if she recognized her. Then, she felt she new the answer.

"Was your sister's name Shew?" She asked, lowering the portrait. Caroline's face fell, and her smile faded.

Riley looked down, and pulled Shew out from her yellow sweater pocket. She held it in her hand, then gave it to Caroline. She flash-backed to three months ago, when she had torn Shew apart, and remembered how Caroline had reacted. She suddenly knew now why Caroline had reacted that way.

"She'd just turned thirteen when it happened," Caroline whispered sorrowfully. "Our parents told us they were leaving, and that they'd come back. After that, I was alone for two months. Then I met you."

She lowered Caroline. Riley noticed fresh tears in her eyes, and she felt she couldn't keep hiding the truth from her.

Kneeling down so she was at Caroline's eye level, Riley rested her hands on her shoulders. "Caroline, I have something to tell you," She said. "You're parents are... gone. And they won't be coming back."

Riley expected Caroline to go into denial. Instead, she nodded slowly.

"I know," Caroline whispered, her voice cracking. "I knew the whole time. I just...

Riley pulled her into a hug. "They're dead," She confessed to her. Tears started brimming in her own eyes. "They're dead and they're not coming back. I wish to Heaven that they would, but they're not."

Caroline sobbed into Riley's shoulder. Riley held her tight. This time, she wouldn't let her go.

* * *

Harold and Jake weren't going to find Riley; not yet. First, they were making a quick stop back at the hotel to get someone.

"Come on, Brooke, we have to get out of here, quickly!" Harold said as he opened Madison's door, grabbed Brooke, and carried her out of the room with Jake following behind her.

"Um, Harold, why are we taking her?" Jake asked as the three hurried down the stairway quickly. "Annis told us to look for Riley alone."

"Yeah, that's the thing," Harold said over his shoulder. "We are GOING. To wherever Riley is, but we're not staying with Annis."

"Wait, we're hiding?" Jake asked, trying to catch up with Harold by sliding down the railing. "We're hiding from Annis?"

"Does that mean we're fugitives?" Brooke asked innocently.

"No, it means we have common sense!" Harold shouted as the three of them went through an emergency fire exit and took off out off the building. "There is no way I'm staying with that psycho! And I'm not going to torture you two by leaving you with her!"

"Aw, that's sweet," Brooke said.

"Don't mention it... ever," Harold warned. The three then stopped at the same motorcycle Harold and Jake had ridden months ago.

Jake gulped. "Oh, please no, not again," He begged.

"Too late for that, kid," Harold said as he grabbed Jake, shoved him up onto the bike before climbing onto it himself. He reached down and grabbed Brooke, slinging her up in between the two boys.

"Hold on, it's going to be a tough ride," Harold said, revving up the engines. Brooke smiled excitedly and held onto Harold's waist. Jake squeaked in terror and wrapped his arm around both of them.

"Ready, set, GO!" Harold shouted as the motorcycle roared to life and instantly sped down the streets.

The roar of the engine was drowned out by Jake's high-pitched screaming. He buried his face in Harold's back, shouting, 'We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"

Brooke's teeth chattered, her hair blowing in the wind. Harold shouted out in determination, speeding through the city. He made a sharp turn, the motorcycle nearly slamming into a building. Jake screamed even louder then before.

They sped towards a hill. The motorcycle soared off the hill, flying through the air.

"Augh, this seems so unnecessarily dangerous!" Jake shouted before the motorcycle landed on the ground, bouncing once. Then, it continued to speed down the street.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	29. Reunion

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Definitely the Arkham Knight's army, then._

 _TheOneAndOnly1993: Oh, it was simple, really. Just go around with guns and scare everyone else into working with you._

 _Cometacos: It wasn't out there for a you. Probably half a year at the most, though that would still be a pretty long time._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: You're taking Annis' side NOW of all times? And why would they tell Annis that they were leaving her side?_

 _Rsbaird: Thanks for that._

 _Korrasami 88: I guess._

 _Antha1: His name is Harold. Well, the reason she treated Riley and Caroline worse was because she felt they were more of a threat to her. She didn't care much for the boys, and didn't consider that they'd turn on her, or at least not so quickly._

 _InsideLove: Well, maybe._

 _The 379th Hero: You bet._

 _Eyewatch: I'll do just that._

 _Js: Okay then. It's good that Caroline's past was convincingly heartbreaking._

* * *

Riley and Caroline lay on the bed in her room. Riley noticed Caroline was scratching at one of her scars inflicted by Annis.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked. Caroline didn't answer, and turned over to the other side of the bed. Riley reached over, and rested her hand on Caroline's shoulder.

"Caroline, are you mad at me?" She asked timidly.

For a moment, Caroline didn't respond. Then, she got out of the bed, walked to the door, and stopped.

"You didn't do anything," She whispered, not turning to face Riley. She began shaking bitterly. Riley shrunk down into the bed.

"When Annis was kicking me and beating me, you just stood there and watched," Caroline whispered, hugging herself. "You said you'd protect me, but you didn't."

"Caroline..." Riley started.

"I trusted you!" Caroline shouted, spinning to face her, tears in her eyes. "You were my sister, and I loved you. But you betrayed me. If Annis had been beating you, and you couldn't fight back, I would've tried to save you!"

Riley froze, realizing the truth. Caroline was right; she would've defended Riley had their situations been reversed. Riley had been a coward, and she'd let her down.

"Caroline, I'm sorry," Riley said, tears forming. "For over a year, I was friends with Annis. We were friends, but I was also scared of her. Scared of what she could do."

"I guess I realized how far that fear took you," Caroline whispered bitterly. Riley got out of the bed, walked towards Caroline, and wrapped her arms around her.

"I know I failed you," Riley confessed. "I wish I could tell you that I would never do it again, but that would be a lie. I will fail you in the future as well. But, the only thing I hope is that I can redeem myself of my mistakes. Please, forgive me."

Caroline didn't move. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around Riley to hug her.

Suddenly, the two heard the sounds of a motorcycle engine down the street. Riley immediately took off to the window, and was shocked to see Harold, Jake, and Brooke driving down the street, all three of them screaming out loud.

"Is that..." Caroline asked as she tried to peek out from the window. Riley lifted Caroline so she could see.

"It's them!" Caroline shouted. Instantly, both girls started shouting down at them, trying to get their attention.

"Hey, it's us! We're up here!"

Jake looked up, and said, "Harold, it's them! Stop the bike!"

Harold skidded to a stop, and the three got off the motorcycle. They all looked disoriented, their hair fuzzy and wild, and Harold's glasses were crooked, but they nevertheless looked happy to see Riley and Caroline.

The three dashed through the door into the building, and before long, they had made it to Riley and Caroline's room.

"What are you three doing here?" Caroline asked to three visibly tired kids.

"We couldn't bare to be with Annis anymore," Harold explained, panting. "We escaped and were out looking for you."

"Oh, thank you, guys," Riley said, dragging all three of them into a group hug.

"This seems to be one of the few parts of the city that Annis hasn't taken over yet," Brooke pointed out. "If we don't act fast, she may come here next."

"What do we do, Riley?" Jake asked, breaking out of her hug. Riley froze.

"I don't know yet," Riley confessed. The other kids' faces fell.

"You all get some rest," Riley said. The kids were all too ready to comply, and they all picked their spots on the bunk bed to fall asleep.

Riley watched them fall asleep, then she turned to look out the window. She saw, far in the distance, the school, which was now on fire.

"Okay, Annis," Riley said, determined. "I'll play your game."

* * *

The city was in chaos. Ever since Annis had given the order, her massive army had surged through the city, rooting out any hideaways. Gunfire erupted through the streets, along with the smashing of windows.

The army would break into unidentified buildings, and scour every room, looking for anyone who might be hiding. When they found them, they dragged them outside to face Annis' army.

Annis led one section of her army through a street, ordering them to search the buildings. Harriet and Madison stood by her side.

"Get those kids out," Annis ordered her beefy bodyguards as they dragged several terrified children out of the building. Then, Annis took out a Molotov cocktail.

"What are you doing?" Harriet asked as Annis approached the building.

"Just making sure nobody's escaping," Annis said, her tone bitter. Before anyone could say anything, Annis lit the cocktail alight and threw it through the window and into the building. The building started to catch fire.

The kids watched in awe and horror.

"What if anyone's still in there?" Madison asked meekly.

"Then it's their own fault," Annis snapped, turning to face her briefly, before returning her stare at the burning building. "I'll expect you do the same to any building you come across afterwards."

Madison backed away towards Harriet. "I wonder where Riley is," She whispered. "I hope she's okay."

"What did you say?!" Annis shouted, whirling around angrily. Before Madison could respond, she found the barrel of Annis' gun pointed right at her face. Quickly, Madison dropped onto her knees, dropping her own gun and shielding her face.

Harriet took a cautious step forward. "Annis," She whispered. "Lower your weapon."

Annis didn't acknowledge her, keeping the gun drawn of Madison. Her finger was over the trigger, ready to pull it, when she noticed a strange feeling. Her eyes slowly looked through the crowd of kids before her. They stared at her, looks of bitterness and discontent in their eyes.

Annis could feel her large bodyguards begin to circle around behind her, their stares giving her goosebumps. Reluctantly, she lowered the gun, allowing Madison to get to her feet.

"All of you, move out now!" Annis ordered. The kids began to advance through the city, leaving Annis alone.

Secretly, Annis shivered. She'd felt an unfamiliar feeling. It was as if, for once, she wasn't in charge.

She knew she had to make sure she never felt that feeling again.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	30. Planning

_Okay, before I do responds, let's clear up something fast: no, the kids aren't going to drop dead when they turn thirteen. The toxic gas dissipated, and when the kids turn thirteen, it won't affect them. Don't ask for details, though. But now, on to the responses._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: I'm sure they'd like that. But at this point, they're too scared._

 _Korrasami 88: She won't listen._

 _InsideLove: Maybe a little later. This one is more a lead-up to it._

 _JasonRyder: If Annis had a records keeper, she'd make sure it'd made her sound like a hero. Hm, I imagined fires blazing in the backgrounds with her army surging through the city like demons. No, Annis isn't really thinking of a symbol at the moment._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: I can't see why you're taking Annis' side now._

 _Eyewatch: Eh, you'll find out in this chapter why leaving won't do much good._

 _Jake: Pretty much._

 _I am a burglar: Yeah, but you can't have it!_

 _The 379th Hero: I wish you made sense._

 _Mr. InsaneGuy: Thank you._

 _Antha1: At this point, they're just capturing everyone and forcing them into the army, or killing those who resist. Also, as you'll find out, Annis doesn't really need the city at the moment._

 _Rsbaird: It seems everyone wants Riley to demolish Annis._

* * *

Riley lay in the room of Caroline's late parents, having left the other four to rest in Caroline's room. She had needed some time to really think about things.

She knew she had to act fast if she were to stop Annis, but she knew if she rushed out too fast, things would end horribly. She had to be careful, and precise, in order to put a stop to her former best friend. She had to find a way to outsmart her greatest enemy yet.

So many thoughts were rushing through her head at the moment for how she could deal with Annis.

She thought of maybe trying to reason with Annis. Appeal to her inner good, if she had any left, reminding them of all the fun times they'd spent together, and how they could relive them now, if she would only stop this madness. But, the more she thought about it, she realized that Annis most likely wouldn't listen.

Then, she thought of having a heart-to-heart with Annis. She was probably still sad about her parents, which is why she was acting out. Maybe, if she empathized with Annis, it would show her how to feel better about everyone else. But then she realized that Annis, once again, would not listen.

A third thought entered her mind. Maybe she should reprimand Annis, chastise her for her actions. Show her disgust at what trouble she was causing, and maybe, Annis would listen. Then she remembered that Annis would probably attack her.

It was then that she thought of a more blunt route: simply fight her. She'd challenge Annis upfront, and fight her in order to take her down. Riley was positive that her love for Caroline and her devotion to her friends would give her the strength to defeat Annis. However, she was still somewhat injured from when Annis had beaten her earlier. She'd have to wait a while before her injuries healed, and that would take some time. Time she did not have.

Finally, Riley felt afraid. She was scared of Annis, scared for Caroline, and scared for the city. Every minute that passed, she was sure that more children were getting senselessly hurt by Annis' actions.

Riley looked up at the ceiling. "Mommy, daddy, if you're listening to me right now," Riley pleaded, tears brimming. "I want you to give me strength and will. Please guide me, so I can do what's right."

There was silence for a few minutes. The silence was swiftly broken when the door creaked open. Riley, in her paranoid state, thought that one of Annis' enforcers had broken into the apartment, and hid under the blankets.

"Riley?"

Riley recognized Harold's voice. Sighing with relief, Riley pulled down the covers to see her friends at the door, all of them looking half-asleep.

Jake yawned, rubbing his eyes. "How's the state of the city?" He asked, his eyes dim.

Riley walked over to the window, and saw that multiple buildings were on fire. It was faint, but she could almost hear the screams of terrors from the children outside.

"It's... not good," She confessed. "We're running out of time."

"Have you guys thought of anything?" Caroline asked, looking up at Riley and Harold.

Riley looked down at her fists. "Well, I was thinking that maybe I could fight Annis," She suggested. "I've beaten kids my age in fights before, I'm sure I'd win."

"Yes, but what about Annis' army?" Jake asked, concerned. "They're all scared of Annis, so they'll follow her lead. Even if you win, I'm not sure they'll turn against her."

"Well, taking her down is our biggest change of saving this city," Riley told them.

Brooke, who hadn't spoken a word, suddenly looked up. "Hey, I have an idea!" She suggested. "We could go back to where you came from. Minnesota, was it? We could gather the kids there!"

Riley smiled. "Yes, we just have to sneak out of the city," She agreed, feeling a new sense of hope. "We can rally more kids over there. It's not like Annis is coming to Minnesota, right?"

The kids smiled, but Riley noticed Harold's face fall. He bit his lips, and shifted his eyes. Riley knew that something was troubling him.

"Harold, what's wrong?" She asked.

Harold sighed. "It's about Annis," He said, looking guilty. "I knew I should've told you before, but I felt that Annis would eventually."

"Harold, what is it?" Riley asked sternly. She knew it must be very important.

"My room is near Annis'," Harold explained. "One night, while Jake was asleep, I was up. I heard Annis talking with her boys late in the night. I was confused as to why she was up so late, so I eavesdropped in on her. It was about her plans."

Riey remembered when she'd almost gotten wind of Annis' plans, but Annis had hidden them from her. "What were her plans?" She asked.

Harold paused for a bit, then ushered everyone closer to him.

"Listen closely. This is what Annis' true plan is."

* * *

At the front of the hotel, Annis stood at the top of a car, standing before her massive army.

"My glorious brethren, we are here to protect the city!" She shouted to them. "To protect the country. This country must learn to follow me, and anyone who doesn't will be rooted out and crushed under my foot!"

The kids were all silent, listening to Annis closely.

"We will not rest until this entire city is under my control!" Annis commanded. "Every inch of this city controlled by me! Every kid following ME, and those who don't will be rubbed out! Then, we will begin the second phase of our plans!"

Next to Annis, Madison and Harriet stared at each other. They hadn't been told of a second phase.

"When this city is under my control, we move out!" Annis shouted. "We will go from city to city, forcing every single child to bow to my rule! It may take, no, it will take YEARS, but it will be worth it! This country will be under my control, and every single child will grow up with me as their righteous ruler!"

The children clapped and cheered as Annis held her gun out in the air, a proud grin on her face. Next to her, however, Madison and Harriet shrunk down in fear.

They wouldn't admit it, but they wished Riley was here now. She would know what to do.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	31. Trust

_Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Yeah, but that doesn't mean she isn't a threat._

 _Guest: It's been a long time coming, wasn't it?_

 _Gamby004: You could say she has. Yes, you were right about the emotions thing._

 _Korrasami 88: Okay, think about it. She goes to each city, forcing more kids to join her. Her army becomes even bigger, so they can spread out more. Even if she doesn't take over the whole country, she'll still take over quite a bit of land._

 _InsideLove: Well, not exactly..._

 _Catalyst56: Annis is too ambitious for her own good._

 _JasonRyder: They're pretty much feeling obliged to do so. It's sort of like you don't agree with what she's saying, but you have to act like you do to avoid punishment._

 _I am a burglar: Good._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Yeah, if you can avoid all the bullets that will be flying towards you._

 _Jin Kazama: I doubt Riley could qualify in that. She's only twelve, after all._

 _Eyewatch: I'm pretty sure Riley wants to avoid as much bloodshed as possible._

 _Antha1: Better late than never. And once again, Riley wants to avoid too much bloodshed. As for the city, Annis blocked off the exits to leave the city._

 _The 379th Hero: Probably the most likely tactic from Riley._

 _Rsbaird: Thank you._

 _Js: You'll find out soon._

* * *

When Harold had finished explaining everything to Riley, everything was silent for a moment. Riley looked to the floor, trying to process what she'd just been told.

"I should've known Annis would do this," Riley told herself. "We have to stop her immediately."

"What can we do, we're outnumbered," Jake pointed out, biting his lip. "We must have some sort of advantage before we can try anything."

Riley stood straight, trying to look determined. "I guess I have no choice," She resolved. "I have to fight Annis, maybe even kill her."

"Would her army let you fight their leader, though?" Harold asked. "They seem pretty loyal to her."

Caroline stood up. "On girl mentioned that Annis was holding their brothers and sisters captive," She pointed out. "All we have to do is find out where they are and rescue them! Then they'll turn against Annis!"

"But we don't know where they are," Jake reminded.

At that point, Riley held up her hand. "I... know where they are," She confessed. "I've known since forever. I'll lead you to them."

The kids around her cheered. "Yeah!" They all said in unison.

Riley quieted them down. "We have to be quick," She whispered to them. The kids nodded, and Riley sprinted through the room, the other kids following her. They left the room and walked down the hallway.

"Riley, we're going the wrong way," Brooke pointed out.

Riley stopped at a door. "We need some help," She explained, and opened the door. In the room, a group of kids were feeding a toddler, but they froze when Riley entered.

Riley knew all too well about her new reputation as Annis' lieutenant. How was she going to gain their trust with that sort of alibi?

"Hello," She greeted casually, hoping to instill trust in the kids. "So, uh, I know I've done some pretty questionable things in the past, but-"

Riley was cut off by a vase thrown at her face, though she narrowly dodged it.

"Get out of here!" The kids were shouting, throwing various objects at Riley and her friends. "Get out! Leave us!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second!" Riley pleaded, dodging thrown objects. "Just hear me out! I mean no harm!"

"Yes, listen to her!" Harold encouraged. Unfortunately, his reputation was no better than Riley's.

When a knife was thrown in Riley's direction, she was sure that she was going to die, and nobody would be able to stop Annis. She couldn't even get those kids to listen to her. Suddenly, without warning, Caroline ran into the forefront of the conflict, and shielded Riley.

"Stop, all of you, stop!" She shouted. Riley was amazed when that caused the kids to stop. It occurred to her that since Caroline had lived next-door to them, it made sense they'd recognize her.

"Riley truly has changed," She reassured them. "She wants to stop Annis for good. She's doing this for me."

"What she said," Jake said nervously. Caroline gave the older kids the puppy dog eyes. They slowly lowered their weapons, seeming convinced.

"Please, do it for me," Caroline begged. Finally, the oldest kid broke down and said, "Fine. What does she have in mind?"

"Gather everyone else in the apartment," Riley demanded. "Then follow me!"

The now larger group of kids tore out the room, but were stopped when they saw two of Annis' enforcers blocking their way, their guns drawn.

"Nobody move!" One of them said. "You're all under Annis' custody now!"

Before anyone could do anything, Brooke grabbed a glass bottle and smashed the bottom of it against the wall, and held the pointed edge of it against the two enforcers. The two enforcers gasped in surprise, and immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands in the air in defeat.

Riley stood there, somewhat surprised. Then, she said, "Let's go!"

* * *

Annis stormed into Riley's room. Ever since she'd thrown Riley off of that bridge, she could not stop thinking about her. It was getting in the way of her true goals, so she sought to try and push Riley out of her memories.

Grabbing Riley's belongings, Annis began to violently chuck them out of the window. Clothing, furniture, toys, everything. The only thing she didn't plan on touching was the bed, since it was too heavy for her.

When she was almost done, she grabbed Riley's computer, and accidentally activated it. The computer screen showed Meg's face on the Skype chat.

"Riley, is that- Annis?" Meg asked, looking stunned when she saw Annis.

"Meg?" Annis said in bewilderment. Riley had introduced Annis to Meg nearly a year ago, so she was familiar with the girl. She was also aware that Meg was Riley's former best friend since they were toddlers.

The thought that Riley had a best friend before Annis caused the bitterness in her to well up inside her.

"Where's Riley?" Meg asked. "What are you doing?"

"It doesn't concern you!" Annis shouted angrily. "Riley isn't here! Stay out of my business!"

"What are you talking about!" Meg asked, but Annis then shut the computer top down and then carried the computer to the window and threw it out. The computer smashed into pieces when it hit the pavement.

Annis stared down at the pile of Riley's belongings, then lit a match and dropped it down onto the pile. Annis watched as Riley's belongings burned up below.

Annis felt some sense of joy from that, but she was still filled with anger. Riley was with Caroline, and she hadn't seen Harold, Jake or Brooke. It occurred to her that they had abandoned her for Riley.

Annis seethed in rage. It was as if she couldn't trust anyone. Not for long, however

Soon, she thought, nobody would be able to defy her. Everyone would be too scared of her, and those who resisted her would be eliminated.

She just wondered which choice Riley would make.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	32. Jailbreak

_InsideLove: Who doesn't want her to._

 _The 379th Hero: Sure what?_

 _Korrasami 88: Sure thing._

 _Gamby004: Riley will find a way, trust me._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Hopefully._

 _Rsbaird: Thanks._

 _Light Seeker 001: Nice observation._

 _I am a burglar: You're bringing knife to a gunfight?_

 _WE ARE THE BURGLAR: Good luck on that._

 _Catalyst56: Doubtful._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: You picked an interesting time to pull a 180._

 _Antha1: Wow, that was harsh. Riley's at least trying to be brave. As for Annis, of course she's pathetic. As for the guards, would you really want to run the risk of escaping past several gun-wielding kids._

 _Jake: You'll find out._

* * *

Riley, followed by over a hundred children, including the two enforcers they had overpowered, exited the building. They poured through the streets, Riley at the lead with Caroline at her side. She was being flanked by Harold and Jake, the latter of which was carrying Brooke.

"Where is everybody?" Riley asked, looking around. She'd expected the streets be flooding with Annis' enforcers.

"The rest of the city surrendered and gathered at the hotel," One of the captured enforcers confessed. "Just about everyone is there. The only ones who aren't are the guards stationed at the exits of the city."

Riley was secretly relieved. At the very least, a large group of children could move through the city without attracting attention.

The kids began to near the Golden State Bridge, and indeed, about a dozen kids were stationed there. Riley noted that they looked rather bored and sleepy, with some of them dozing off. However, something else caught her eye.

A girl was riding her bicycle over the bridge towards the city. In the back of Riley's head, she was wondering why anyone would want to be going to the city, but then she recognized the girl. She had fuzzy red hair, green glasses, freckles, and was rather short in stature.

It seemed Harold had taken notice as well, because he whispered, "Hey, is that-"

"Meg?!" Riley shouted in disbelief. Unfortunately, her shouting caused the sleeping guards to stir awake in shock.

"Whoa, what's happening?!" One of them asked. As Meg road by, one of them instinctively snatched her off of the bike.

"Hold on, lady!" He said as he wrestled with Meg, who tried to release herself from his grip. Bad move. The moment Riley saw her friend in danger, she instantly dropped the plan to sneak past the guards.

"Get them!" Riley shouted, charging at the bewildered guards. Instantly, over a hundred children rushed at the bridge towards the guards, who were too confused and frightened to do anything. Before the guards could even draw their weapons, the mob of children had overwhelmed them and had them on the ground.

Riley pulled Meg up to her feet. Meg had always been a rather fragile girl, so Riley checked to make sure she wasn't hurt. Luckily, aside from a few scrapes, she was okay.

It had been such a long time since Riley had personally seen Meg face-to-face. She pulled her friend into a hug, then asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was trying to call you, but you weren't there," Meg explained to Riley. "Then, Annis was in your room, trashing the place, and she seemed really angry. I had to check to make sure you were okay!"

"You shouldn't be here!" Riley warned her. "Things are very dangerous now! Leave before its too late!"

"Whatever is happening, I'm not leaving!" Meg said defiantly. "I'm your friend, Riley. You can count on me. Besides, I spent who knows how long riding here."

Riley wasn't in the mood to argue. "Fine," She sighed. "Okay, we're going to stage a jailbreak."

Meg's face went blank.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

A half hour later, the crowd of kids were all lined behind a building overlooking the city jail.

"You know, Riley, when I came here, I didn't actually think we'd be doing something like this," Meg confessed. Riley shushed her, her attention focused on the lone guard at the entrance. She knew that he didn't stand a chance against over a hundred children, but she didn't want to run the risk of him possibly managing to alert Annis' army.

Brooke stared at the jail. "You know, in hindsight, we probably should've guessed Annis was keeping them all here," She noted to herself.

Riley ushered Harold and Jake over towards her. "Go up to that guard," She ordered, pointing to one of the large, burly boys guarding the entrance. "They don't know you're technically fugitives."

"Roger that," Harold said. Jake nodded hesitantly, and the two boys proceeded to race over to the guard. They stopped in front of him, and looked up at him.

"I hope you bring me good news," The guard said. Harold and Jake were briefly distracted by the gun in the kids hand, but they steeled themselves to response.

"Yes, sir!" Harold said, saluting him. "We've come to report that... uh, that we've captured the city. Only about a hundred kids remain!"

"Then shouldn't you be telling Annis that?" The guard pointed out. Behind the building, Riley face palmed and silently cursed to herself.

Harold stared at the guard, his face blank. Then, he swiftly grabbed the gun out of the guard's hand and clonked him on the head with it. The boy soundlessly collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Riley and the rest of the crowd ran up to them. "That could've gone better," She muttered to herself. "Anyways, let's do this thing!"

Harold opened the door to the jail, and the children poured inside. The guards within turned to face them, and were instantly overwhelmed by the larger group of children.

"Rock and roll!" Riley shouted as she led the charge. Some of the kids tried to fire their guns, but they were overtaken before they could. The small hallways were crowded as dozens of children poured inside and rushed the guards.

Soon enough, the children burst into the jailing areas. They saw hundreds upon hundreds of hapless young boys and girls locked away in the slimy cells, under watch from older children. The guards immediately charged to meet with the invaders.

The crowd spread out, tackling the gun-toting children. They'd punch them, kick them, wrestle them, and choke them. The guns were smashed to pieces under the foots of the invading children.

Riley would tackle the guarding children and take them down with a few moves she'd gotten from playing rough hockey. She'd slam them onto the ground and knock them unconscious with a well-placed elbow to the chest or neck. She was careful not to critically injure them, though.

Behind her, Harold kicked one guard in the stomach, winding him. Then, he delivered a left hook to another boy's jaw. Jake was using a gun as a baseball bat, knocking the guards to the floor with relative ease. Brooke was crawling on the ground, using her small size to her advantage. She tied up the guard's shoelaces, causing them to stumble and fall.

Meg and Caroline, who weren't fighters, used the distraction as an opportunity to get the keys from an unconscious guard. They ran from cell to cell, unlocking the doors and freeing the younger children. They raced out of the cell excitedly, gleeful at being free after months of being locked up.

Brooke opened one cell and saw her little brother inside. Darting inside, she grabbed him and help him in the air, joyful at having reunited with him. She covered his face with kisses.

Never in Riley's wildest dreams did she ever think she'd be leading a prison riot. She'd never thought she'd set foot in a prison, ever. She dumped those thoughts, however, as she fought to keep her priorities straight.

Eventually, the kids had the guards subdued. They piled them randomly into different cells, locking them up.

"Don't worry, this is only temporary," Caroline reassured them. Turning to Riley, she then said, "Let's go and take down Annis!"

The kids cheered and were about to rush out the jail when Riley stopped them. "Wait!" She ordered them. "We can't go in there without a plan! This was child's play, but Annis still has us outnumbered!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Harold asked impatiently.

"I know exactly what to do," Riley said. "We have to find a way to shift Annis' army back onto our side. At least half or most of them. We're definitely not going there all mob-like."

"So, what do we do?" Harold asked, more innocently this time.

Riley paused to herself. She knew she had to stop Annis, one way or another. She was prepared to fight her, if it was necessary.

But first, she'd have to seek out a peaceful solution before devolving into violence.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	33. Negotiate

_Al Drin Hoshizora: Dude, you seriously picked an awkward time to switch sides._

 _I am a burglar: You know, you could join the revolution. I bet it's going to be a lot more fulfilling than remaining a burglar._

 _Baird Engineer of Delta Squad: Thank you, there will be more of that._

 _Gamby004: Huh, I haven't seen that movie. Sounds like a good one._

 _Korrasami88: Let's do this thing!_

 _Antha1: Okay, let's make something clear here: it's established that most of the kids are following Annis because she has their younger siblings locked up. Riley's thought process is that if she frees them, Annis won't have any leverage over them anymore and they'll turn against her. Going in there with violence would just provoke a fight, which Riley is trying to avoid. P.S.: thanks for clearing up the Bridge's name._

 _Catalyst56: Riley's trying to be an optimist._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Here to save I am a burglar, it seems._

 _Eyewatch: If there were, they'd have done something by now._

 _Generalderpy014: I was actually thinking to myself why Inside Out was the setting. I still haven't quite figured it out :P_

 _The 379th Hero: Well she won't go down without a fight._

 _InsideLove: It sort of goes like that..._

 _Js: Well, time to see how things will end up._

 _Light Seeker 001: Is it weird I have no idea who that is?_

 _Alright guys, this is the beginning of the climax. Wish me luck!_

* * *

Riley led the crowd of children towards the hotel. As they did, Riley internally thought to herself about her next course of action.

She already had a plan in store: she'd try to take a peaceful route first with Annis, trying to appeal to her. There was a slim chance she could redeem her former friend. But, on the very likely chance Annis refused, Riley would fight her. She didn't want to have to kill Annis, but if it meant saving the city, she was prepared to do so. But it definitely wouldn't be a first option.

As the kids neared the hotel, they saw the entire city was all crowded on the streets. Riley was briefly shocked; millions upon millions of children, all gathered in one area. She'd never seen so many children before. Her heartbeat raced, before returning to normal.

"Hide," Riley whispered to the crowd. "I'm going to go and face Annis myself."

The kids all gathered behind a building. Riley knelt down to face Caroline, and whispered, "If I don't make it out, keep fighting. Never give in."

Caroline nodded, and Riley hugged her tight before releasing her. Then, she ran towards the crowd of children, entering into the wave of bodies.

Riley squeezed through dozens of bodies, trying to get the front to where Annis certainly was. Luckily for her, there was so many children that she barely attracted attention from them.

Riley froze when she heard Annis' voice. "People of San Francisco, tonight we will march out to Minnesota and take it as our own!" Annis shouted out to them. "It will be the first of many cities that we will grace with my presence!"

Riley could feel the vindictiveness from the tone of Annis' voice. She knew why Annis was targeting Minnesota first; as a petty attempt to spite her. Riley begin to shove her way through the crowd, more determined than ever to stop Annis.

"Annis, stop this!" Riley shouted as she squeezed through the crowd. One agitated girl shoved Riley forward, and Riley was promptly elbowed in the face by a fat, meaty boy. Despite the numbing pain in her face, Riley surged forward.

"Tonight, we march!" Annis shouted, not noticing Riley. "Tonight, we march to a new-"

"STOP!" Riley shouted, reaching the front of the crowd. As she did, she was shoved to the ground by a group of children. She landed on the pavement, face-first. As she did, she heard all voices silence.

Annis stopped talking, and stared at her former friend as she lay on the ground. Madison and Harriet, who were standing by Annis, both gasped in shock at seeing Riley in such a state. Behind the building, Harold and Caroline watched, concerned.

Riley breathed heavily on the ground, and gathered all of her strength as she got to her feet. She faced Annis, and found that she had a gun, aimed right at her.

Riley saw the look of malice, bitterness, and anguish in Annis' bright eyes. Briefly, she looked up and said, "Mom, dad, give me strength."

Annis narrowed her eyes. "Riley Andersen," She sneered in a bitter tone. "I take it you've come to your senses and have decided to join my cause."

Riley nodded. "Yes, I have come to my senses," She declared, standing tall. "I'm here to stop you!"

Annis shook violently, and for a moment, Riley thought she was going to die. However, she wasn't going to back down now. Not again.

"Put down the gun, Annis," Riley told her in an almost demanding tone. "We'll talk it out."

Surprisingly, Annis lowered the weapon. Riley heard the crowd mumble behind her, but she ignored it. She was just glad that Annis was actually listening to what she was saying now.

Annis motioned for Riley to follow her behind the hotel. Riley quickly followed her, hoping that things would not end in violence.

* * *

 _ **(In Riley's Mind)**_

"I can't believe she's actually listening to us!" Joy said enthusiastically, running around Headquarters excitedly. "Maybe this won't be a disaster after all!"

Fear, however, was less ecstatic. "But what if she's just going to kill us once we're behind the hotel! Then, Caroline will be all alone!"

Anger punched his fist into his palm. "We're not giving up on Caroline that easily!" He said, determined. "If that girl tries to make us kick the bucket, I'll make sure she kicks this!"

As he said that, his head burst into flames.

Joy froze, and turned to face Anger. "Hey, hey, hey, the last thing we want is a fight, remember," She pointed out to Anger. "We're going to settle this like gentlewomen."

"...Then we'll fight!" Anger retorted excitedly. He didn't think reasoning with Annis would work anyways.

"I just hope we survive so Caroline will have someone to come back to when this is all over," Sadness murmured softly. "The girl's lost her whole family, and we're all she has left."

"If we're going to survive, we need to be tough," Disgust mentioned. "I have an idea!"

"What is it?" The rest of the group asked.

"...Get all that dust off Riley's shirt," Disgust suggested. "She looks like a bum."

"...Good idea," Joy said and pulled a lever, making Riley brush off the dust and dirt from her shirt and pants.

* * *

 _ **(In Annis' Mind)**_

"Why didn't we just shoot her?" Anger asked angrily to Joy. "She won't change! We can't risk her turning everyone else against us!"

The other emotions began to babble in agreement, but Joy shushed them. "No, this is another one of my great ideas!" She reassured them. "This is our final chance to make Riley ours again!"

"What about Caroline?" Sadness pointed out. "She'll just Riley against us, again."

"Anger will take care of her," Joy assured him, pointing to Anger, who smiled maliciously. "Either way, the next time we see that red-headed louse, we'll make sure she never sees Riley again."

Anger chuckled. "I wonder how we will do it," She mentioned.

Disgust and Fear walked up. "And what happens if Riley continues to defy us?" Disgust asked, folding her arms. "I am definitely not going to put up with someone who won't do as we say."

Joy smiled. "If she refuses, then her fate will befall all those who defy us," She explained. "There's no room for kids who can't obey the law! She'll set an example for the others!"

The emotions all clapped for Joy, who bowed down under the praise.

* * *

Riley and Annis settled down behind the hotel. Both of them knew this couldn't be long; they each intended to get city on either of their sides, as fast as possible. And the first step was to try to and get the other person on their side.

Once they were sure the city was out of earshot, Riley was the first to speak up. "Annis, you have to-"

Before she could get another word out, Annis grabbed Riley by the shoulders. "Oh, Riley, I'm so glad you came back to me," She told her. "I hope you can see things my way."

As weird as it seemed, Riley could see Annis' way. Her way was arrogant, conceited, and narcissistic. She was not going to give herself in to that sort of viewpoint, and doom the rest of the city, maybe even the country.

"Annis, can't you see the harm your causing," Riley told her former friend. "The people you're hurting."

"Minor casualties of an ultimately good cause," Annis replied. "Can't you see? People get hurt, but it's what must be done if things are to be set right!"

"Good cause?" Riley spat out, and turned Annis around to face the city. Many buildings were all fire, and smoke was blotting out the skies. The skies were a mixture of black and red.

"Look at what you're causing, Annis!" Riley demanded, holding Annis' shoulder. "Do you plan to do the same to every other city you go to on your conquest to make yourself powerful! What will there even be left for to rule?"

Annis swatted Riley's hand away. "Everything will be alright," She replied, and then wrapped her arms around Riley. "I'll make it all better. You'll see. With me as ruler, everything will return to the way it was."

"If you want everything better, then don't destroy everything," Riley urged. "Seek a peaceful way out. If you continue like this, who will follow someone like you."

Riley felt a sense of anger when Annis seemed to change the subject.

"I can give you a position of power," She whispered into Riley's ear. "Make you a ruler over one of my cities. Can't you imagine what that would be like?"

Riley thought of what it would like for a moment, but fought the offer. "It's not worth it!" She argued. "What's worth it is this country."

Annis rather roughly gripped Riley's head. "Ssh, I'm thinking about the country when I do this," She cooed. "Everything will work out with me in charge. Riley, my Riley, I'll-"

"My name is Riley Andersen!" Riley shouted, shoving Annis away. "I don't belong to you! I'll decide my life, and I choose to remain with Caroline. For the sake of this city, Annis, please stop!"

Annis' eyes narrowed, and she grabbed Riley by the scruff of her shirt. "If that's what you choose, then fine!" She growled, and roughly dragged Riley out from behind the hotel and back to where the crowd was.

Annis tossed Riley to the ground, and turned to one of her burly guards. "Gregory, I want you to kill her!" She ordered him. "Kill her with your own hands!"

Riley looked up at Annis and Gregory in horror. The large boy reluctantly turned to Riley, and approached her slowly.

Annis grinned bitterly. "Alright Riley, let's see what you do now!" She said. "This boy will kill you! And if you want to stop it, you are going to have to kill HIM! Let's see how your peaceful opinions save you from that!"

Riley slowly got to her feet. She stood in front of Gregory, and clenched in fists. She was prepared to fight.

But, one thing was clear; she would make sure neither of them would have to kill the other.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	34. Worth Living For

_Once again, I'm not going to respond to any reviews. I'll just continue with the story._

* * *

Riley faced off against Gregory, measuring herself against the larger boy. Gregory was a couple inches taller than her, and much wider, which didn't give her an advantage in strength. But, she did have her agility.

"Gregory, you don't have to do this," Riley whispered to him, even as she got into a fighting stance. "We can stop Annis."

"She has my little sister," Gregory whispered back to her. "I have to do as she says."

"The thing is, Gregory, I-" Riley started, but was forced to dodge when Gregory took a swing at her. Gregory swatted Riley with her arm, knocking her towards Annis. Annis roughly shoved Riley back towards Annis.

Riley, seeing that all-talk wasn't going to solve the issue, opted to deliver a left hook to Gregory's face, causing him to stumble backwards. Riley's fist burned from the punch, but she steeled herself to continue fighting.

"If you want to protect your sister, go against the real evil," Riley encouraged.

"And what if the others turn on me?" Gregory retorted, towering over Riley. "It's better to stay safe and keep with the crowd."

He swung at Riley again, but she dodged the punch. Nimbly shifting behind him, Riley tackled him, butting all of her force into the attack. She managed to knock him on his stomach, and pinned him down. Riley then twisted Gregory's arm behind his back. Though he tried to escape, he wasn't flexible enough to maneuver out of Riley's grip.

Riley looked up to stare at Annis to see what she would do.

"Kill him," Annis demanded. Riley shook her head defiantly.

"I'll never do as you say ever again," Riley said, even as she continued to restrain Gregory. "I won't do it."

Annis gritted her teeth, and narrowed her eyes. She turned to some of the other kids in the crowd, and said, "Kill her, then!"

A group of enforcers in the crowd approached Riley, their weapons drawn. Riley immediately got off of Gregory, and raised her arms against them. She knew it was time to act now, before it was too late.

"Caroline, Harold, Meg!" She shouted out, startling the crowd. "Now!"

"What?" Annis said, stunned as she turned to look where Riley was facing. As she did, the crowd of the imprisoned children came out of hiding, revealing themselves to their older siblings. At the head, Caroline ran towards Riley.

Annis could only stand in shock as the crowd of children, made up mostly of the previously imprisoned younger siblings, made their way through the crowd, trying to find their older siblings. One by one, brothers and sisters reunited within the mob.

"How did you..." Annis mumbled, but then her eyes diverted to Caroline. Something snapped in Annis' mind, and she grabbed a gun up off the ground and took aim. Harold noticed Annis take aim and shouted, "Riley, watch out!"

Riley, who had been watching the crowd in satisfaction and relief, darted her head to Annis, then immediately tackled Caroline out of the way as Annis opened fire. The bullets hit the ground near several nearby children, causing them to stumble away.

Caroline ran as Annis fired at her in a desperate attempt to kill her. However, Riley dove towards Annis and tackled her into the wall of the hotel. Before Annis could react, Riley grabbed her and threw her against the wall, stunning her.

Smashing the gun into pieces, Riley then ran towards Caroline and embraced her. "Are you alright, Caroline?" She asked, checking to make sure she wasn't hurt. Some of the kids watched this in shock, surprised that Riley would strike Annis.

Annis was just as bewildered. She got to her feet, rubbing her head and trying to figure why Riley would stand against her. However, confusion turned to anger, and she charged at Riley while her back was turned.

"Riley, watch out!" Caroline shouted, but before Riley could move, Annis kicked Riley in the side of the head. The kick knocked Riley to the ground with a sickening thud, stunning her. Annis roughly grabbed Riley, hoisted her into the air, and violently threw her into the wall. The crowd of children winced.

"Ungrateful wench!" Annis shouted as she proceeded to pound Riley with her fists and feet. "I took you in when you were alone, and gave you a home with me. I gave you special treatment out of everyone! After all I've done for you, you turn on me?!"

Riley was crouched next to the wall, shielding her face and shoulders as Annis clawed and punched her. Annis' nails began to draw blood, and she struck Riley's defenses down, causing her to lower her arms. Annis then punched Riley in the face roughly.

"Stop it!" Caroline shouted, tackling Annis and biting her leg. Annis screamed in pain, then brutally kicked Caroline in the chest, knocking her onto the ground. She turned back to Riley, grabbed her by her hair, and threw her several feet away.

"Riley!" Meg shouted, and ran to aid her, but Harriet pulled her back.

Riley lay on the ground, dizzy and disoriented. Annis walked over to her, grabbed Riley by her hair, and pulled her to her knees.

"Was it worth it?" She asked, holding Riley in front of a half-conscious Caroline. "Is she worth it? I can fix all of this, and give you a special life, if only you will return to me. Riley, join me."

Riley breathed heavily, still worn out from the damage Annis had inflicted upon her. However, she gathered her remaining strength, and tore away from Annis' grip.

"I'll... never join you, Annis," Riley defiantly claimed, even as she struggled to stand. "You talk about justice, but you never look out for those that are truly in need of your help. All you care about is yourself, and your needs. Even I'm only a possession in your eyes. I pity you."

Annis stared at Riley, confused.

"I'll never be like you!" Riley spat at her, making sure everyone was listening. "Because Caroline, and my friends, they give me something that you'll never give me. They give me something worth living for."

Riley turned to look at Caroline, who had gotten to her knees. She smiled gratefully at Riley. Riley then turned to her friends as they watched. Harold gave a small smile to her.

Riley was broken out of her happy thoughts by the sound of Annis' anguished screams. She turned to see Annis pull a knife out of her pocket and lung at Riley. Riley screamed, and ran into the opposite direction, Annis chasing after her, the knife held over her head.

"Annis, stop this!" Harold shouted, dashing towards Annis. However, Annis struck him in the head, knocking him to the ground, and resumed her chase after Riley.

Jake helped Harold to his feet, and the two took off after Annis and Riley. Behind them, Madison and Harriet followed, wanting to make sure Riley didn't get killed. Soon enough, the crowd began to take off after them as well.

The last one to follow was Caroline. She struggled to keep up with the crowd as she ran after them, wanting to make sure Riley got out of the scuffle safe.

* * *

 _Read and review.  
_


	35. Riley vs Annis

_The 379th Hero: Wow, are you a fan of Wild Mass Guessing._

 _Satsui no Hado Ryu: You bet she is._

 _Eyewatch: What?_

 _Gamby004: I guess._

 _I am a burglar: I'm not even asking anymore._

 _Korrasami 88: Run for your life!_

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: You know, it is kind of weird to bring up that anime._

 _Reader: The ocean is nowhere near close enough to throw her in._

 _Bladerunner43: I would've called Annis a dictator, not a serial killer. Interesting to see how your version would've panned out._

* * *

Riley ran as fast as her feet could carry her as she took off out of the streets, Annis pursuing her. She didn't plan on backing out of a fight, though; she just needed to get Annis away from the crowd, where there was less risk of others getting hurt.

Once the two were on the street, Riley rolled onto the ground, scooping up an ice-compacted snowball. Spinning towards Annis, Riley threw the snowball straight into Annis' face, knocking her onto the ground and causing her to drop the knife.

With Annis' weapon out of her reach, Riley charged at Annis and tackled her to the ground. The girls rolled over each other, punching and kicking, clawing and biting. Riley briefly had the upper hand, and pinned Annis to the ground. Annis, however, was bigger and stronger than Riley, and quickly managed to topple her onto the ground.

The two briefly broke out of each others grip, and got to their feet. Annis made a beeline for the knife, but Riley ran towards her and tackled her. This time, Annis managed to stay on her feet. The two girls grappled with each other, trying to force the other down. Annis quickly began to overpower Riley, and forced her to the ground.

Riley groaned as she got up, and heard Annis pick up the nice. She instinctively rolled in the opposite direction, and stumbled onto her feet. Annis rushed at her, swinging the knife at her face and neck. Riley was careful to avoid the knife, and rolled passed Annis.

Riley saw the crowd of kids begin to approach. They stopped at the sidewalk to watch how things would turn out.

Riley immediately knew she couldn't keep on fighting like this. Annis was stronger than she was; Riley had to find a different strategy to take her down.

As Annis approached her, Riley nimbly dove towards a garbage can and threw it at Annis. The can struck Annis in the head, knocking her over. Riley let Annis get up. Annis seemed worn out, but still determined.

Giving a shout of anger, Annis charged at Riley, who ducked to the side and tripped Annis, causing her to land on the snow. The knife clattered several feet away.

Annis got onto all fours, breathing heavily. She was tired, and exhausted. Still, she steeled herself to continue fighting. Getting to her feet, she clumsily stumbled towards Riley, and attempted to grab her. Riley, however, delivered two well-placed punches to Annis' nose, and eye. The two blows brought Annis to the ground instantly.

Riley was tired herself, but she could still fight. Annis' face was bruised, and she could barely stand. She began to crawl towards the knife. On the sidewalk, Annis' minions watched as their leader pathetically attempted to gab her weapon.

Riley didn't even bother trying to stop Annis. She was hardly a threat now.

Annis finally grabbed hold of the knife, and pulled herself to her feet. Turning to face Riley, Annis summoned her last bit of strength, and dashed at her. Riley prepared herself to continue fighting, knowing she could easily take down Annis.

However, Annis didn't reach her. Suddenly, Madison dashed out from the crowd and grabbed Annis' arm as she was only inches away from Riley. Riley watched in surprise as Madison swung Annis by her arm, tossing her onto the ground.

Everyone let out an audible gasp. Even Riley was at a loss for words.

Annis sat up, staring up at Madison in shock.

"What are you-"

"Enough, Annis," Madison stated firmly. "I've had enough. We all have."

Annis stared at Madison silently, then turned to face her army. "Kill them!" She ordered. "Kill them both!"

She got no response. The crowd of children stared down at Annis, who suddenly didn't seem so intimidating now that she'd been humiliated by Riley. They began to lower their weapons, unwilling to follow her anymore.

"W-What?" Annis mumbled, stunned. "What are you..."

"It's over, Annis," Riley said. "You're not going to turn this country into a war zone. Surrender peacefully, and come back with us."

Annis stared at Riley, and for a moment, Riley seemed to see a flicker of the friend she once knew in Annis' eyes. Then, unexpectedly, Annis' eyes darkened and she shouted, "Never!"

With surprising speed, Annis took off down the streets, heading in the direction of the Golden State Bridge. Riley knew that she planned to escape the city.

"We have to stop her!" Riley told the others. Her friends were already giving chase, soon followed by Annis' former bodyguards, and soon, the entire crowd. Annis' dog pack ran down the streets, giving chase to Annis.

Riley tore down the street, fast as ever. She knew she had to stop her former friend before she got loose from the city.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	36. Rooftops

_Once again, no replies this time. I'm just going to get to the chapter right away. However, before anyone asks, I have no intention of making a sequel. This story is a standalone. However, I do plan on making more Inside Out fanfictions._

 _Anyways, let's get going._

* * *

Annis ran down the streets towards the bridge, feeling degraded and humiliated.

How could the mighty have fallen like this? Not a half hour ago, she was the leader of the city. She was the ruler. She was God. And suddenly, all her power had been stripped from her in an instant.

All because of Riley. And Caroline.

Her feelings of pure, unrestrained hatred towards the two of them fueled her soul. She would make them pay, somehow. But first she had to find a way out of the city before her former followers caught up to her.

She could hear the sounds of hundreds, _millions_ of children and preteens, all swarming after her, their arms outstretched like the claws of Death itself, ready to drag her to her doom. Annis had never felt so terrified in her life.

"Annis, stop!" She heard Riley call. She ignored it. Secretly, she wanted to turn around and tear out Riley's throat, but she was severely, horridly outnumbered. She wouldn't be able to touch Riley before she was overwhelmed.

She could hear the sounds of the kids getting closer, hearing their shouts drilling into her ears. She knew she couldn't outrun all of them. She had to find some other way to escape.

Thinking quickly, Annis darted into an alleyway, where she was met with several attack dogs that charged at her, snapping at her. Annis quickly dove onto a giant dumpster, out of the dogs' reach. They hopped up at her, snapping and clawing at her, but they couldn't reach her.

Annis quickly jumped towards an open window, crawling up it. She crawled onto the roof of the building, and continued running. She knew the other kids wouldn't be able to catch her up there. Now, she just had to find some sort of vehicle to sneak out of the city from.

Below, the kids stopped at the building, Riley at the front.

"Follow Annis to the bridge!" Riley ordered the bodyguards. "Make sure she doesn't leave. I'll go get her!"

With that, she jumped onto the dumpster and made it onto the roof to continue her pursuit. Caroline and the others watched her leave.

As they did, Jake turned and said, "Hey look, it's a helicopter," He said, pointing at a small blue helicopter. It was then that the kids realized they were standing next to a helicopter manufacturer.

"Hey, I know this," Meg said, climbing inside the helicopter.

"Wait, what?" Harold asked, bewildered.

"My dad was a technician," Meg revealed as she turned the helicopter on. "He showed me how to turn this thing on before he passed away. He said it'd be useful some day."

Harold stared blankly at her.

"...What?!"

Caroline stared up at the buildings where Annis was, and an idea formed in her head.

"Uh, Meg, do you think you could take me up to the roof?" She asked with a smile.

* * *

Annis ran, feeling an adrenaline rush as she hopped over the tops of the buildings to get to the bridge. She could see her bodyguards racing towards the street, but she was faster than they were.

Behind her, Riley was right on her heels. "Annis, stop!" She shouted. "You have to stop! This is pointless!"

Annis didn't respond initially, but then an idea formed in her head. As Riley ran after her, Annis froze suddenly, spun around, and punched Riley in the gut. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Riley, and she collapsed in a heap onto the ground.

Annis would've liked to finish Riley off at the moment, but she had to hurry if she was to escape. She continued running, diving onto the roof of another building. She was nearing the bridge.

As she ran, she couldn't help but hear the choppy sound of what appeared to be rotating helicopter wings. At the moment, however, she ignored it. Her chance to escape was too close.

She reached the edge of another building, and saw, to her glee, a stack of bicycles down below. She could just pick one, and be out of the city before anyone could catch her. Before she could climb down the building, however, a familiar voice called out, "Annis!"

Annis spun around to see Caroline, standing on the opposite edge of the roof. Annis was wondering how she had gotten there so fast.

"Come and get me, ugly!" Caroline goaded, a smug look on her face. "Come on, come on! I'm right here!"

Caroline's insults fueled Annis' rage. She wanted so badly to kill her, but was it worth her only chance of escape?

"Come on, chicken!" Caroline shouted out. "Are you chicken? Bock, bock, bock, chicken! You're nothing but a cowardly, arrogant, bully!"

Annis' eye twitched, and she gritted her teeth in anger. Her muscles tensed as she fought to urge to tear Caroline apart. She steeled herself to ignore the taunts and climb down to the bikes, but at the same time, she could feel her anger overwhelming her.

"I'm right here, Annis!" Caroline shouted. "You sickening... stupid... horrendous % #*&!"

That was the last straw. With a growl, Annis charged at Caroline, who stood where she was. She watched as Annis approached her at a fast pace. She drew her breath, closed her eyes, and waited.

Then, at the last millisecond, with Annis' rage-filled face right in front of hers, arms outstretched to grab her, Caroline dove off the edge of the roof. Annis couldn't stop herself in time, and she, too, fell off.

As Annis fell, she saw it. The helicopter rising up the building, being piloted by Meg with Harold, Jake, Brooke, Madison, and Harriet all inside. Madison arm was outstretched from the sliding door, and she was grasping Caroline's hand, keeping her from falling. She pulled the girl inside, letting Annis fall.

As Annis fell, she realized she had been tricked. She landed on a smaller building with a thud, knocking her senses out. There she lay, injured and bruised. Blood trickled from her nose.

Riley, who had seen the whole thing, soundlessly dropped onto the same building as Annis. She cautiously approached her former friend, watching as she lay there in agony.

"Annis," Riley whispered, kneeling down to her friend. Annis turned to stare at her.

"Why?" Annis asked, starting to lift herself up. "Why did you do all of this, just for that insignificant girl. I could have offered you everything."

"No, you couldn't," Riley retorted. "That "insignificant" girl offered me more than whatever offer you could have. And I can do the same for you. Surrender peacefully, and we'll go back together."

Annis stared at Riley, a look of shock on her face. Then, her face tensed, and she whispered, "Pathetic."

With that, she lunged at Riley, her nails digging into Riley's throat. Riley choked out in pain as Annis hoisted her into the air, holding her above the edge of the roof.

"Riley!" Caroline shouted as the helicopter flew towards them, hovering above them. Harold and Jake pressed their faces against the window, looking horrified. Caroline seemed ready to jump out to Riley, but Madison and Brooke held her in.

"I'll get out of here," Annis declared to Riley. "I'll go to the nearest city, and find more children who will follow me. And then, I'll continue what I've started. But first, I'm going to kill you!"

With that, she dropped Riley from the roof. However, as she fell, Riley reached out and grabbed Annis' collar. With a shriek, Annis was yanked off the roof with Riley. The two girls plummeted off the roof into the alleyway, locked in each others hold.

"Riley!" Caroline shouted. Then, before anyone could do anything to stop her, she jumped out of the helicopter after them.

* * *

 _Read and review._


	37. Endgame

_JasonRyder: How unoriginal do you think I am?_

 _Satsui no Hado Ryu: Pffffft... like that's going to happen._

 _Al Drin Hoshizora: You can stop pretending to like her, you know. I only have one chapter left after this._

 _InsideLove: I think you have a problem with your grammar there. Also, how many people really think I'd kill off Riley?_

 _Korrasami 88: Or face the age of her extinction!_

 _I am a burglar: Yeah, you can just face the same fate Annis is going to get._

 _Guest: Wow at your comment._

 _The 379th Hero: I haven't watched Heroes, so... don't get it._

 _Gamby004: Here's a hint: It starts with an A._

 _WE ARE THE ROBBERY: Uh, considering what actually happens to Annis, throwing her in a river is a tad merciful._

 _Antha1: Okay, I'm pretty sure Riley has earned back everyone's trust. I mean, she freed their siblings, took on Annis one-on-one, and followed her up a building. As for Annis, she's not thinking straight by now._

 _Jake: Yeeeeeessssss!_

 _Blacksword 1: All your questions are answered here._

 _Light Seeker 001: Okay, that would make Annis way too much of a Karma Houdini._

 _Bladerunner43: Yep, story's ending._

 _Drunken Hamster: Thanks, drunkie._

* * *

The three girls plummeted down the side of the building. Caroline flailed through the air after Riley, realizing just after she'd jumped out of the helicopter that she actually had no idea what she was going to do to save Riley.

While Annis swung her arms through the air, trying to grab onto something to save herself, Riley immediately reached out to Caroline, grabbing her and hugging her close. Once Caroline was in her arms, Riley immediately stretched out to try and grab something. The building was rather short, but it would still be deadly if they fell the whole way down.

Luckily, there was a railing of stairs at the side of the building. Riley grabbed hold of the railings, stopping herself in midair. She held Caroline in her free arm, and watched as Annis fell down after them. Immediately, Riley stuck out her foot for Annis to catch. Annis instinctively grabbed hold of Riler's shoe, grasping hold of it.

"Gah!" Riley groaned out in pain as Annis' weight pulled her down. She couldn't hold both girls at once. Annis' nails dug into her ankle as she tried to clamber up Riley's leg. Tears began to spring from Riley's eyes, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to pull both girls up.

Riley heaved as she tried to push Caroline up over the railing. However, as she did so, she began to hear the old railing begin to give away from the weight of the three girls. Riley gasped.

"Be careful," Riley whispered as much to herself as to Caroline and Annis. However, a frightened Annis began to quickly scramble up Riley's body to get over the railing, and the sudden movement caused the railing to break away even quicker. Riley knew that it was going to break away soon.

With the last of her strength, Riley shoved Caroline over the railing just as it snapped off, and Riley and Annis dropped down into the alley below. The two girls landed on a dumpster and tumbled down onto the pavement below.

The two lay there, bruised and bloodied, breathing heavily. Caroline looked down at them, horrified.

"Riley?!" She shouted out, concerned. Riley slowly looked up, her nose bleeding. Caroline breathed in relief.

"Okay?" She asked. Riley slowly nodded. Next to her, Annis groaned as she struggled to get up. Unexpectedly, the three heard growling and barking. Riley turned to see the pack of attack dogs surround the alleyway, blocking their way. They snarled at the two girls.

Riley gasped and started to get to her knees, with Annis doing the same. She raised her hands to the dogs to try and give a peaceful gesture to them. The nearest dog barked and snapped at her.

"Riley?" Caroline asked from above.

"It's okay, Caroline," Riley said, even as her voice was laced with terror. She slowly got to her feet, keeping her arms in front of her. She shielded Annis from the dogs, trying to sooth the pack. She saw their ribcages and realized that Annis had been underfeeding them.

Suddenly, Riley felt Annis knock her over, closer towards the pack. She fell to her knees, and found herself staring the closest dog in the face. She saw that it was the same Boston terrier that Annis had taken months ago.

The dog growled at Riley, and she did a small whistling sound. It was Annis' Tune, the one Annis always did to sooth her. Now, she did the same whistle to the dog. The dog, and the rest of the pack, stared at Riley intently.

Riley, not taking her eyes off the dog, raised her hands towards it. The dog bared its teeth, and Riley hesitated, but then rested her hands on the dogs snout. The dog froze as Riley softly rubbed its snout. She felt a bruise on it, and realized that Annis had been abusing it, and likely the other dogs.

"What are you doing?" Annis asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The dogs behind them approached them slowly.

Riley slowly rubbed her hands above the dog's face and ears, and even hugged it close to her. The dog whimpered. Slowly, the other dogs began to whimper along with it.

Riley smiled softly, a tear in her eye. Suddenly, Annis shouted, "What's the matter with you all?! Eat her already!"

Immediately, the dog growled and bared its teeth; not at Riley, but at Annis. Annis' infuriated face shifted to fear when she realized that all the dogs were sharing an identical glare at her. She got to her feet, and backed away slowly.

"Hey, good doggie..." She whispered fearfully, and jumped when the dogs behind her began to snarl at her.

"Hey, hey, now calm down..." Annis whispered, her voice breaking and her forehead laced with sweat. "Please..."

Riley stared at Annis, and let go of the dog, which stalked after Annis and cornered her against the wall. Soon, all the other dogs began to do the same, advancing towards her.

Annis tried to mimic Riley's movements, holding her hand out to the dogs. "Hey, good boy..." She whispered, forcing a fearful smile. "Good little... boy..."

The second Annis placed her hand on the dog's snout, it growled and clamped its jaws onto her hand. Annis screamed out in sudden agony, her shriek cut short when a second dog pounced out from the pack and tackled her, knocking her against the wall. The dogs immediately charged at her, covering her and burying her beneath their bodies.

Riley took the opportunity to retreat out of the alley, listening to the sounds of the dogs' barking and growling and Annis' screams. The moment she was out of the alley, Caroline ran out of the door of the apartment.

"Riley!" She shouted, hugging her. Riley immediately returned the hug, tears of joy streaming from her face. As they embraced, the helicopter landed and the rest of their friends exited the helicopter.

"Riley, you're okay!" Meg shouted, hugging Riley as well. The others immediately followed, group-hugging her. Riley hugged and kissed them, glad to be surrounded by her friends.

The crowd of kids arrived at the scene, watching from afar as the friends embraced each other. They all smiled in relief.

They all knew it was finally over.

* * *

 _Only one chapter after this. It was fun writing this fic. Don't worry, this definitely isn't a goodbye._


	38. The End

_Well, here's the final chapter to the story. It was fun writing this, and I thank to all of you reviewers. Also, I'd like to make mention that you start reading my new story, Yellowjacket._

 _However, I do have something to say to Antha1: I'm NOT ashamed of Caroline, I just felt you weren't giving Riley enough credit for what she did. Caroline contributed, believe me._

 _Anyways, on to the final chapter._

* * *

It took hours, but the kids eventually uncovered Annis' body; or at least, what remained of it.

The pack of dogs had truly despised Annis, something every child was aware of, and when they had turned against her, they had made sure to extend her suffering to as long as possible in retaliation for what she had done to the city.

When the children did find her body, Riley recalled that Jake turned away and puked. She managed to keep her feelings to herself, but she was rather sad to see what had become of her former best friend, even after all she had done. Caroline seemed to sense Riley's sadness, as she squeezed Riley's hand, and smiled up to her sympathetically.

About an hour after finding the body, Riley and her friends buried Annis' body next to Riley's parents. After a small farewell, they returned to the half-destroyed city, where the crowd of children were waiting for them.

Riley immediately picked out several familiar faces in the crowd. Those were the kids that had initially enforced Annis' rule in the first place. As much as she wanted to pin all the blame on Annis, she knew that she, and those that had helped Annis force everyone else under her control, had to share the blame.

"We've all done a horrible thing, following Annis," Riley called out to everyone. "But, now we have to find a way to atone for what we've done."

"What are we going to do?" Harold asked. "We can't fix this city after what Annis did to it."

Riley knew that Harold was right. The city was in flames after all the buildings Annis had set alight, and she and the other children could not fix it without the help of the adults.

Meg's face lightened up after a while. "Come back to Minnesota with me," She suggested to Riley. "There are no psycho dictators there; at least, not yet. You can live with me."

Riley realized the irony at how, beforehand, she wished to return to Minnesota. Now, after she'd adapted to San Francisco, she was being offered the chance to return to her birth home.

Riley looked out to her friends, Caroline especially. She then ushered them closer for a group talk.

"What are we going to do after we go to Minnesota?" Jake whispered to the group. "I mean, Annis was a maniac, but she had a point. We can't go on without any sort of order."

Riley thought for a while. "I... no, we'll take care of that," Riley told them. She knew that one person couldn't decide everybody's fate; that was Annis' mistake, coupled with her arrogance and egomania.

"You mean... like a government?" Caroline asked.

"NO!" Harriet shouted suddenly.

"Calm down, all of you," Riley said. "It's not like that, but yes, it does involve a group of people making mature decisions. And that involves you."

"Wait, what?" Caroline asked. "I'm going... you're going to let me..."

"Yes, Caroline, it involves you," Riley said, ruffling Caroline's hair. "You taught me some of the most important things in life. I would never have been able to do this without you."

Caroline looked shocked; then, her eyes started to brim with tears, and she suddenly hugged Riley.

Riley returned the hug.

* * *

 _ **(Two Months Later)  
**_

"So, you turn the car on like this," Meg explained to Riley as she demonstrated to her. She sat at the driver's seat, revving up the engine to turn it on, while Riley pretended to listen. In truth, though, she had a lot of things on her mind.

After the big move back to Minnesota, taking millions of children with her, Minnesota had seemed a lot bigger. There was hardly a house that didn't have a group of children living in it, whether living biologically with each other or having simply integrated into living with each other.

Riley herself had moved back into her original house, though not alone. She'd taken Caroline, Harold, Jake, Madison, Harriet and Brooke, and her little brother with her. They'd never really been to Minnesota, so they'd just decided to join her back in her home.

Things were a lot more crowded in Riley's house now that she had seven other kids living with her. It reminded her of when she had first moved to San Francisco; things were rather rough at first, but slowly, things began to improve.

Riley had thought that being part of a constitutional democracy would be complicated, but she soon found out that the other kids barely ever asked for any help from her or the others. They mainly helped themselves or each other.

Riley did strive to improve things in the city, however. She made a rule to limit thievery and other such crimes that any amoral children may commit, but she hoped never to go to Annis' lengths to ensure order would be established. Annis' former bodyguards were established as a sort of lawgivers, provided they didn't resort to needless brutality like they had done while under Annis' rule.

When a child did ask to help solve a problem conflicting them, Riley made sure to ask the opinions of her friends to help guide her in her decisions. Annis had never done this, and Riley wanted to make sure to right the wrongs Annis had done.

However, when all was said and done, the best part of the day was when Riley could be alone with her sister. Caroline had proven such a good person ever since they moved to Minnesota, in sharp contrast to what she had been like when she first met Riley. She and the other children who now lived with Riley had bonded together quickly.

At night, when Riley would go to bed with Caroline to sleep, she would reminisce about when she lived with her parents. She would always miss them, and she'd never forget them, but now she knew to look out to the future. A future with Caroline, and the rest of her friends.

Then, she would smile as she watched over Caroline as she slept, before dozing off herself.

Maybe a Kids World would not be such a bad world after all.

* * *

 _AN: Finally, I'm done. I'd just like everyone to know that I had a hard time coming up with a way to end this story, so I hope I satisfied you all. And, like I said before, please check out Yellowjacket.  
_

 _Goodbye to you all, for now :)_


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